መልመጃ ፭ | MELMEJA AMIST 

Exercise Five of Marxist Modern
2024 - 2025 
Mixed media on paper

The following works are the result of a research project that explores the idea of 'change' in the context of the 1960s Ethiopian Student Movement.
The project aims to uncover the enduring legacies of one of Africa’s most influential student-led political movements. It examines the evolving political and social landscape over the past fifty years through the perspectives of its thinkers, dreamers, and revolutionaries.
 

It is also a personal journey, tracing how the ideologies that once thrived on university campuses, in cafes, and in underground study circles continue to shape contemporary Ethiopian social and political life. Berhane’s own memories of Addis Ababa University as a workplace for his father in the Ethnological Museum and research center, formerly the Gännäta Le’ul Palace, an idyllic setting, anchor this exploration in lived experience.
 

The research project also understands the movement not only as a subject of historical study but also as a mirror reflecting the unresolved tensions of the present. It traces a path from the fall of the monarchy in the 1960s, through socialism and ethnic federalism, to the complex realities of today.
 

Blending archival research with creative interpretation, the works narrate the layered histories embedded within public spaces, educational structures, and student publications, highlighting how narratives are constructed, maintained, and challenged over time. It also reflects on the persistence of dogma, the cycles of exclusion and conflict, and the ways narratives have been built, contested, and erased. Ultimately, this is not just a retelling of the past; it is a visual contribution to the larger discourse on Ethiopian modernity and its causes.

 

*The works are a continuation of Exercises or Melmeja on the research project.