Tobias Zielony: The Citizen

Tobias Zielony’s “The Citizen” is an extension of the eponymous project that began at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Since 2005, Zielony’s photographs have addressed the issues of migration and life on the edge of societal acceptance. “The Citizen” highlights the struggle of African individuals for their rights as refugees in Germany, and their self-staging as precarious political subjects. Twelve African Newspapers collaborated with Zielony, responding to his photographs with articles looking at the topic from the perspective of the refugees’ countries of origin. His installation “Storyboard (Monuments Man)” unfolds surprising connections between refugees’ demonstrations in Berlin, looted art in Germany during the Third Reich, and George Clooney’s recent advertisements for Nestlé alongside his satellite projects to document crimes against humanity.