Mansour Ciss Kanakassy invites viewers to think of trespassing as a double-edged sword—as sin/crime, as redemption/resistance. On the one hand, he points out the brutal and savage trespassing practised through colonialism and neocolonialism that manifested the CFA franc; and on the other, he presents his Afro currency as a tool of emancipation—economically, culturally, historically, and most importantly, with regard to the dignity of African peoples. The Afro is but one of many ‘products’ of the seminal initiative and call to action that Mansour Ciss Kanakassy established in 2001 with the emblematic title Le Laboratoire de Déberlinisation [Deberlinization laboratory]. Mansour Ciss Kanakassy’s work is a sociopolitical, socio-economic, and artistic project of re-comprehending and recalibrating histories. Importantly, it is also a project of civic education on multiple fronts—disciplinarily and geographically— aimed at imagining an informed and stronger civil society. The current iteration of Le Laboratoire de Déberlinisation is called Fabrique du Futur [Factory of the future] and takes the form of an Afro Bank branch kiosk with ‘employees’ explaining to visitors the concept of Le Laboratoire de Déberlinisation. The kiosk also offers visitors the opportunity to exchange euros for Afros at the rate of 1 Afro to 2 euros. Additionally, the installation also hosts photos, drawings, posters, videos, and other visual material relating to the Afro and Le Laboratoire de Déberlinisation. During the run of Forgive Us Our Trespasses / Vergib uns unsere Schuld the Afro is in circulation throughout HKW. 

Work in the exhibition: Le Laboratoire de Déberlinisation. Fabrique du Futur (2024), plywood, paper, 1-channel video. Courtesy of the artist