i ain’t from no east coast

Verdiana Albano

When you are constantly asked where you come from, you inevitably begin to reflect more deeply on the question yourself.

This series explores the complex relationships between family, identity, and the aspirations associated with labor migration. Verdiana Albano was born in Saxony shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Having met in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), her parents believed in the promises of both East Germany and socialist Angola. The collapse of these political structures following German reunification called into question the future of her African father’s residence in Germany. Despite high unemployment and the rise of racism during the transition period, her parents remained faithful to their convictions and did not move to western Germany until the late 1990s.

Albano deliberately blurs the boundaries between documentary photography and staged imagery. Drawing on family archives, literature, and historical records, she collaborates with her older brother to imagine visual worlds set within former GDR museums and abandoned collective production sites.

The project also engages with broader philosophical and cultural debates surrounding identity, belonging, and the experiences of the African diaspora, offering a nuanced reflection on memory, migration, and self-representation.

curator Mariama Attah
partner Canon

FOUNDATION

i ain’t from no east coast

Verdiana Albano