Object Stories: Anna-Lisa Dieter and the Corals

Anna-Lisa Dieter is drawn to objects that tell more than they reveal at first glance. As curator of On Water. WasserWissen in Berlin, she developed the exhibition’s concept and narrative. Together with her colleagues on the curatorial team, she selected the objects that carry this story. The corals from the Museum für Naturkunde are among the objects that have made a particularly lasting impression on her.

In 1967, the East German government had parts of a coral reef removed in the socialist „brother country“ of Cuba and shipped to Berlin. Several years later, a lifelike reconstruction of the reef was to be presented to the public on the occasion of the GDR’s 25th anniversary. “What fascinates me about the corals is that they are not only natural history objects, but also political ones – because of their provenance, the history of where they come from, which tells us a great deal about the GDR’s self-image,” says Anna-Lisa Dieter.

At the same time, the curator raises another question: How should we deal with objects whose origins are marked by intervention and appropriation? “The corals carry a history of violence,” she says. “By presenting them in the way we would present works of art, we are, in a sense, restoring their dignity as objects.”

For Anna-Lisa Dieter, the corals exemplify themes that shape her curatorial work. Through these marine objects, the natural sciences and the humanities enter into a productive dialogue: researchers at Berlin universities study corals from both perspectives, something visitors to the exhibition can explore at an audio station. The curator is currently working on the catalog On Water. Fluid Perspectives, which will offer an opportunity to engage more deeply with the subject of water, water research in Berlin, and the exhibition On Water itself.