Bilderechos aus Peru

Bilderechos aus Peru / Resonating Images from Peru at MARKK Hamburg revisits the photographic and audio archive of Hans Heinrich Brüning, who documented everyday life and cultural history in northern Peru around the turn of the 20th century. Bringing these historical records into dialogue with contemporary perspectives, the exhibition explores questions of memory, identity and cultural self-determination.

YUUE developed the exhibition design around the idea of gaze and resonance. Layered spatial compositions create encounters between the visitor’s gaze and the gazes captured more than a century ago, generating moments of emotional resonance across time. Figures and landscapes extracted from historical photographs are placed directly onto the walls, bringing the people and atmosphere of the past into the exhibition space.

YUUE also uses multimedia and projection to bring a sense of movement and immediacy to the otherwise static exhibition. Black-and-white portraits at the entrance are animated through shifting projections of color and light, making the people within them feel more vivid and approachable. Contemporary reinterpretations of historical images found online are brought into motion, introducing a sense of ongoing, real-time engagement with the archive.

A carefully selected color palette cuts through the predominantly black-and-white material, highlighting a contemporary perspective while guiding visitors through the different thematic chapters. Flexible typography, shifting layouts and hand-drawn maps give each chapter its own visual character, while bringing historical images, contemporary interpretations and visitors together within a coherent visual language.

Client: MARKK, Hamburg
Exhibition: Bilderechos aus Peru / Resonating Images from Peru
Curators: Christine Chavez, Prof. Gisela Cánepa, Dr. Walther Maradiegue
Designer： Weng Xinyu
Assistance： Laura Banus, Feiyang Houng
Official Photos： Paul Schwimweg