Memorial event for flood victims in Blankenheimerdorf with live performance by the ‘Silent Witnesses’
Constant rain in summer. Nobody is happy about it, but for the people in the areas affected by the flood of the century in July 2021, the pelting rain brings back completely different, terrible memories. Many people are still traumatised by the terrible events, because while houses are gradually being renovated and roads rebuilt, the deep-seated emotional pain remains. Especially when the night of 14 to 15 July 2021 suddenly changed everything forever because loved ones lost their lives in the floods. That is why ‘Team Gedenken’ has taken the sad third anniversary of the disaster as an opportunity to organise a special memorial service for the victims and their bereaved families. In keeping with the European Union’s newly introduced day of remembrance for victims of climate disasters worldwide, the team is inviting people to the official memorial site in Blankenheimerdorf on 15 July from 6 pm. Two years ago, 49 trees were planted at the junction of the federal roads 51 and 258 in memory of the 49 flood victims from NRW.
Klaus Jansen, initiator of the website 140721.de, would like to fill the site with life on this fateful day and invites people to remember the people who lost their lives so cruelly and senselessly on the night of the flood. Memorial candles will be provided.
As a special highlight, the performance artist Dennis Josef Meseg has developed a special adaptation of his ‘Silent Witnesses’ for this day of remembrance. The installation was used for the first time at a silent vigil in front of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament in the run-up to a further hearing of evidence by the ‘Flood Disaster’ committee of enquiry in February 2024. 135 mannequins wrapped in white symbolised the victims of the flood who could no longer speak for themselves or for justice. In April, the mannequins even went on a boat trip from Remagen to Mainz, with countless people expressing their solidarity from the shore.
For the art campaign in Blankenheimerdorf, the artist now wants to literally bring his installation to life: Under each of the 49 memorial trees, a performer in a white full-body suit (morph suit) will stand as a representative of each of the people who died in NRW. In this minimalist environment without distractions, the focus will be entirely on the scenery when the performers move very leisurely during the two-hour action and change their position under their tree up to five times in total. Dennis Josef Meseg, who also creates sculptures, wants to use his art to depict the fatal effects of the night of the flood in a meaningful way: ‘The figures take on a vivid humanity, because the viewer suddenly gains a completely different feeling for the mass of people. 49 flood victims are no longer just an abstract number, but each figure stands for a real victim here.”
The artistic visualisation is intended to provide space for emotions and reflection on the tragic events, but also to provide food for thought on how to deal with global climate change and effective preventive measures to avoid disasters of this magnitude in the future. Meseg also sees the performance as an opportunity for the grieving relatives to make their voices heard in order to optimise the location with appropriate infrastructure: ‘At the memorial, I also want to visualise the fact that the bereaved should be offered a dignified place to mourn.’
The initiative welcomes every visitor who would like to commemorate the flood victims in Blankenheimerdorf on this evening.
Monday, 15 July 2024, 6-8 p.m. Blankenheimerdorf memorial site
Text by Simone Conen-Dörholt
Photo gallery 1 – Dennis Josef Meseg
Photo gallery 1 – Heiko Heinen
