Olaf Nicolai's Artistic Work 'Trauer und Melancholie' at the Sigmund Freud Museum

Olaf Nicolai's artistic work 'Trauer und Melancholie' was presented at the Sigmund Freud Museum, marking the 82nd anniversary of Freud's death. The exhibition featured Nicolai's documentation of the first Arabic translation of Freud's text, a radio play, and accompanying preparatory conversations.

Olaf Nicolai's artistic work 'Trauer und Melancholie' (Mourning and Melancholia) was presented in the Sigmund Freud Museum's 'Library of Psychoanalysis' on the 82nd anniversary of Sigmund Freud's death. Nicolai's artistic documentation from 2009/12 enabled the first translation of Freud's eponymous writing from German into Arabic. The presentation included the publications in German and English, as well as the text presented as a radio play. This radio play was produced by the radio station Amwaj 91.5 FM in 2009 and broadcast as a reading lasting several hours during the Ramallah Biennial. Film recordings of the preparatory conversation between the radio speaker and the translator Mohammad Abu-Zaid were also shown as an integral part of the installation, conveying the complexity of the undertaking, particularly due to differences between language cultures. The artistic translation performance thus addresses states of mourning and foregrounds interpersonal dialogue, a process central to psychoanalysis and humanitarian efforts for clarification and resolution. The work is accessible upon request and was made possible by the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts.

The work is accessible upon request.