Christian Guerematchi

Crni Tito - Blaq Tito Addressing the Parliament of Ghosts is an artistic interaction between the soloperformance NAM - Non Aligned Movement by Christian Guerematchi with the Parliament of Ghosts - the artistic work by Ibrahim Mahama in Tamale, Ghana. Both works talk about forgotten histories and their interaction acknowledges the contemporary echos of the cultural connections from the time of the Non-Aligned Movement between Ghana and Yugoslavia - Nkrumah and Tito. The persona of the Blaq Tito is inspired by Guerematchi’s childhood in Yugoslavia, where Tito was famous for his travels and collaborations with countless African countries. The story of the Non Aligned Movement is the story of Guerematchi’s father who studied in Slovenia (back then Yugoslavia) and was part of an almost utopian migration story from the time of the Cold War. The Red Clay Studio art space where the Parliament of Ghosts is situated, creates the perfect backdrop with it’s forgotten airplanes and its artistic architecture. Blaq Tito - himself a ghost from a forgotten past addresses the parliament of memories with an epic monolog in which past and present as well as Africa and Europe become one.

“We must never forget our African comrades,” says the uniformed ghostly figure of Blaq Tito, waving to the people on the streets of Tamale in Ghana. Yugoslavia’s head of state Josip Broz Tito, who lived till 1980, was the founding father of the nonaligned movement and advocated cooperation with countries such as Ghana. The Red Clay Studio art space, where the “Parliament of Ghosts” resides, forms the backdrop for a monologue in which past and present, Africa and Europe become one.