Flüstergewürz 

The Hauptmarkt, the main square of my hometown in Germany, is a popular tourist attraction; its history as a northern trading post on one of the extensions of the Silk Route manifests its significance and symbolism in the Middle Ages. The wealth of Renaissance merchant families and their connection and influence on the clergy, and the destruction of the square during WWII have defined the appearance and the chronicles of the square. 

In 1934, my great-grandfather attended a rally on the Hauptmarkt and spoke out publicly against Hitler and his politics. He was seized immediately by the Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, and was later released. I found out about this event only several years ago when my father revealed this anecdote to me in a casual conversation.

Unfamiliar with and surprised by the disclosure of this event, I began my project Flüstergewürz for which I collected narratives related to the Hauptmarkt. My late mother and I collaborated on organizing and conducting interviews with participants to record their stories, some of them almost forgotten, just like my great-grandfather’s. In the tradition of the main square as a trading post, we baked chilibread cookies and used them as currency to pay for our participants’ narratives. 

The photographs are collages that combine images of participants, written stories, and xerox copies of historical photographs of the Hauptmarkt. They belong to a portfolio documenting the research and process of Flüstergewürz.