ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the concept of postmigration and its historical origin in so-called ‘postmigrant theatre’. It introduces an analytical concept that is useful in studies of art and performance: ‘migratory aesthetics’. The postmigrant approach offers ways of sidestepping some of these challenges of multiculturalism and ethnic labelling. One of the assets of the concept of postmigration is the performative work that it can do, that is, its ability to initiate a process of questioning and reinvention. One of the most vociferously contested arenas in postmigrant societies concerns identity. Identity is also a classic subject in performance, theatre and the visual arts. Postcolonial thinking is sometimes seen as a tradition of critique aimed at Western colonialism, and its accompanying institutions and ideas. The chapter argues that Langhoff’s words also capture what is at stake in Ehlers’ artistic practice, as one who seeks to critically examine the historical archive and create new ways of telling stories that invite a new reception.
