Christian Diaz Orejarena is an artist and art educator. [Art educators talk to other people about art, for example during guided tours or in workshops.]
His artistic work is based on research and history. It makes injustice, inequality, and economic dependency visible, as well as relationships based on dependency between the Western world and the Global South. [The countries of the Global South are located in Africa, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. These countries used to be called developing countries. They were exploited by European countries. The consequences of this exploitation can still be felt today].
Christian Diaz Orejarena combines fantasy, imagination, and true stories. In his comics, drawings, and videos, he shows people who are different. They do not fit in. They fight back and take a stand against the exploitation of the Global South.
In 2021, Christian Diaz Orejarena published his comic “Otras Rayas—Andere Linien” (Other Lines). This work is about the connections and consequences of German colonial history in Colombia. During this period, German businesses set up trade routes through Colombia so that Europeans could exploit the country more easily. In the comic, various family stories are told along these trade routes. This includes Christian Diaz Orejarena’s own life story. His father comes from the Santander region of Colombia. In the nineteenth century, a merchant named Geo von Lengerke from Lower Saxony developed large areas of land there. Quinine was harvested from the land: it was used as an effective treatment for malaria fever. It was very valuable at the time and helped to bring new areas under control. Geo von Lengerke also built roads and bridges.
Ghostly masks and figures guide the reader through the history of the comic. The comic shows how the past continues to have an impact today. Who has what power over the economy in Colombia? Who owns the land and the undeveloped forests? And what do German museums have to do with it? At the Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Christian Diaz Orejarena is turning the comic into a space that visitors can enter for the first time.
Christian Diaz Orejarena (DE/CO) lives and works in Berlin. He recently exhibited his work in “Realities Left Vacant” at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (2023) and gave a lecture performance at “Habibi Kiosk” at Münchner Kammerspiele, on his comic debut “Otras Rayas - Andere Linien”. Together with Lara Dade, Christian Limber and Miriam Trostorf, Diaz Orejarena forms the collective rampe:aktion. Together they work at the intersection of art, social work, film and art education. In recent years, they have held several workshops and film events, for example with the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (nGbK). In 2024, Christian Diaz Orejarena was nominated for the Neukölln Art Prize.