letters to john

Briefe an John, 2020

This reflective handbook accompanies a long-term art project that examines the legacy of war in Laos and its enduring consequences. A central element of the project is a series of fictional protest letters addressed to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. These letters serve as a personal and artistic device to process the complex history and legacy of the Secret War in Laos, in which the U.S. played a pivotal role.

By writing to Kennedy—used here as a symbolic figurehead for the global system of warfare and its profiteers—the artist explores themes of responsibility, complicity, and ethical engagement. The letters merge personal reflection, moral questioning, and artistic strategy. They aim to make visible a largely forgotten conflict and challenge the comfortable distance many in the Global North maintain from the consequences of war.

Presented in a format that evokes secrecy and exposure, the letters are both intimate and political. They function as acts of protest, remembrance, and confrontation—tools to raise awareness and engage viewers emotionally and intellectually with the aftermath of war, and the role art can play in such a context.