Judith Raum, even running

More about the book

This publication documents Judith Raum's solo exhibitions at uqbar, Berlin, and The Return, Dublin, and translates her 2011 lecture performance, "harmless entrepreneurs," into book format. The works explore production modes and material culture within German economic imperialism in the Ottoman Empire during the early 20th century, highlighting improvisation and makeshift solutions in constructing the Baghdad Railway. This railway aimed to connect German businesses with the resources and markets of Anatolia. The book includes the complete script of the lecture performance, historical correspondences from German and Turkish archives detailing the technical and entrepreneurial exploitation of material and landscape by Deutsche Bank, photographic archival material, and essays by Suhail Malik examining the links between early global trade and modern international-financial-statehood. Additionally, Jonathan Carroll reflects on the precariousness of form in Raum's installations. The publication also references a statement from a German cotton production company owner in South-Eastern Anatolia, who, in a monthly report, expressed dissatisfaction with local production methods while assuring that new machines would ensure consistent cotton quality, termed "even running."