The Memory of Things, of You, of Me.

Presented at the Lightroom Gallery in the Architecture Building, Carleton University, September 16–October 3, 2025

Exhibition opening hours: Monday–Friday, 11:00am – 4:00pm

About the Exhibition

The exhibition presents four works by Berlin-based artist Sonya Schönberger, comprising two existing pieces and two newly commissioned works. Together, they explore the enduring presence of rubble, the scars of war, and the layered memory of conflict in Berlin and across Germany. 

The entrance wall will feature images from Schönberger’s photographic series Despite the Rubble, confronting the viewer with the lingering traces of destruction. The reverse of this wall will display three silicone impressions taken from bullet holes embedded in Berlin’s architecture, offering intimate, tactile records of violence inscribed in the city’s fabric. 

The rear of the gallery will be dedicated to moving image works, including Michael, a film examining objects recovered from wartime rubble. It will also feature a newly created piece that reflects on Carleton University’s collection of German war damage maps. 

Through these works, the exhibition engages with themes of war damage mapping, perpetratorhood, the material afterlives of conflict, and the act of material witnessing in the context of the post–Second World War era. 

Exhibition Opening

The exhibition will open with an Artist Talk and reception on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Artist Talk will be held at the main-level central Pit in the Architecture Building. The opening reception will take place at the Lightroom Gallery, also in the Architecture Building. 

The Artist Talk and catered reception are free and open to all.