Kommando 52

In the organizer's words:

With Kommando 25, NOME presents the third solo exhibition of Italian artist Paolo Cirio at the gallery. The exhibition features Cirio's cross-media project Resurrect, which explores anti-militarist, anti-fascist and anti-imperialist themes by reviving controversial figures from neo-colonial wars with the help of artificial intelligence.

The series features Bob Denard, Siegfried Müller, Jean Schramme and Mike Hoare, four historical mercenaries from France, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom who were active in the Congo in the 1960s. Resurrect explores these figures through extensive research as a means of experimental storytelling and as a creative form of anti-war activism.

In the deep fake videos, the protagonists speak in their original voices, sharing artificial intelligence-generated reflections on their lives and actions. Cirio uses archive photos and videos, biographies and texts written by the mercenaries to give these figures a new life as revived, repentant soldiers.

The title of the exhibition refers to the infamous Kommando 52, a German mercenary unit. Together with other paramilitary groups, it was part of a coalition of Western countries that wanted to retain control of the country's mineral-rich regions after Congo gained independence in 1960. Some of these mercenaries later became warlords and were involved in various coups and military operations in the following decades. Despite their sordid history, many of them are still revered as war heroes and their myths persist in online communities, action movies and history books.

By using artificial intelligence to resurrect these figures, Resurrect reinterprets history and subverts contemporary cultural narratives. The project explores ethical implications of identity theft, challenges to freedom of expression through AI and its impact on cultural narratives. In addition, the project addresses the ongoing conflict in Congo, which continues to be waged by mercenary forces and claims millions of lives - fueled by colonial interests in the extraction of rare minerals used in the high-tech industry, including AI.

Paolo Cirio (*1979, Turin) has exhibited in major international institutions, including the Foam Museum, Amsterdam; the Fondazione Prada, Venice; the Fundación MAPFRE, Barcelona; the Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, Modena; the Kunsthalle Wien; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; the Tate Modern, London; the BOZAR, Brussels; the Vancouver Art Gallery; the MIT Museum, Cambridge; the SMAK, Ghent; the C/O Berlin; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the ICP Museum, New York; the MoCA Sydney; the ZKM, Karlsruhe; and the MAK, Vienna. His work has also been presented at international biennials, including the 12th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, the Warsaw Biennale in Poland, the Sydney Biennale in Australia, the Media City Seoul in South Korea, the Strasbourg Biennale in France, and the Gothenburg Biennale in Sweden.