IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS
From the series Pop Art on Paper
This collage depicts German politician Alice Weidel — a member of the right-wing populist party AfD (“Alternative for Germany”) — in a cozy atmosphere. The “German Forest” hangs on the wall and a garden gnome, symbol of German narrow-mindedness, is warming up by the stove. A smiling Alice lies snuggled into her bed while it snows swastikas and snowflakes: an expression of her own and her party’s conceptual stance. A goat poses on the roof, alluding to the protag-onist’s defining charac-teristic, and a rising comet, the logo of the AfD, adorns the sky. The result is a satirical look at the “Alice in Wonderland” of Germany. (The work’s title is based on the children’s classic published in 1865.)
The work “Are the universities now hostages of Hamas?” consists of a large tarpaulin hung in an open space. The provocative question “Are the universities now the new hostages of Hamas?” is spray-painted in yellow graffiti on the tarpaulin. The choice of the tarpaulin as a medium triggers a critical examination of the role of universities in the context of the Middle East conflict. It calls for reflection on the extent to which universities allow themselves to be influenced or even dominated by a terrorist, fascist and radical Islamist ideology - or whether they consciously decide not to allow this to happen.
Durch die Wahl der Zeltplane als Medium wird eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Rolle der Universitäten im Kontext des Nahost-Konflikts angestoßen. Es fordert dazu auf, darüber nachzudenken, inwieweit Universitäten sich von einer terroristischen, faschistischen und radikal-islamistischen Ideologie beeinflussen oder gar beherrschen lassen – oder ob sie sich bewusst dafür entscheiden, dies nicht zuzulassen.
BABY MOBILE, 2023/2024
The work Baby Mobile (2023/2024) takes the Ukraine-Russia war as its starting point. Contrary to what the title suggests, silver bullet casings, machine guns, and other objects are dotted around alongside cuddly toys, symbolizing the new reality of Europe: the hot water bottle is an allusion to the energy crisis, the whisk is a metaphor for Russia's consideration of enlisting women in the war, the plane as a stand-in for the hijacking of Belarus in 2021. They point to the multi-layered dimensions of political entanglements and the paradox of daily warfare.
This collage shows Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, striving to win over the populace for vaccination against the virus. Merkel, depicted as a nurse, watches with visible amusement from the elevated perspective of her chair: an ejection seat?!? The “Federal Eagle” from Germany’s coat of arms flies above the heads of the people — depicted as laboratory bunnies, are they listening intently after suddenly hearing him?!? The typographic presentation of the lyrics of “Bella Ciao,” the Italian resistance movement’s well-known anti-Fascist song from the Second World War, underscores the painting’s satirical message: Resistance against the virus!
Revolvers, pistols, semi-automatic assault rifles, machine guns: It would almost seem as if Americans can’t do without weapons. The list of weapon types is long and the demand is high. Places like Newtown (Conneticut), Aurora (Colorado), Los Angeles (California) and Sutherland Springs (Texas) have gained notoriety as a result of the shooting sprees there. And after each shooting, new weapons are purchased. It’s a flourishing trade. What is it that keeps weapons sales going? Or, if we look at it differently, what is it that makes weapons seemingly indispensable to many people?
The diptych Brother & Sister (The Final Countdown) shows the most popular and most frequently purchased types of weapons in the US: the semi- automatic AR-15 (America’s Gun), which has been the mass shooter’s weapon of choice time and again, and the Colt M1911, a popular service pistol with the police and the army. The work also ponders the question of what has to happen in society for outdated ideas to change.
Das Diptychon „Brother & Sister“ (The Final Countdown) zeigt die populärsten und meist gekauften Waffentypen in den USA: die halbauto- matische AR-15 (America’s Gun), die immer wie der die Waffe der Wahl von Amokläufern ist oder auch die Colt M1911, eine beliebte Dienstwaffe im Einsatz der Polizei und der Armee. Das Werk beschäftigt sich darüber hinaus mit der Frage, was gesellschaftlich passieren muss, damit sich veraltete Vorstellungen verändern.
The silhouette of a soldier, whose facial features are indicated, stands against a moving, abstract background. His rifle and boots contrast in color with his brown clothing, his left back turned towards us. On his left arm and forehead, he wears „tefillin“, leather prayer straps worn by orthodox Jews, which identify him as a person praying. The emotionally charged, expressive background is perceived as an immaterial space and describes the inner contemplation of the praying soldier, but at the same time also the everyday threatening situation in the Middle East. The figure, emphasized by angular outlines, stands out clearly from the painterly virtuoso, multi-layered structure of the painting ground. The sight of a praying soldier in a public space is unfamiliar in Germany. In Israel, the majority of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) were exempt from Israeli military service until a few years ago, but this exemption was lifted by law in 2021.
From the series Arsenal, 2015
Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. Ist sie das? Wenn politische Verhältnisse dramatische Einbußen an Demokratie zeigen, wenn das Allgemeinwohl wirtschaftlichen Interessen unterliegt, wenn Menschen unter ihrer Würde behandelt werden. Und wenn der Schutz der Privatsphäre nicht mehr gewährleistet ist. Vom gläsernen Menschen unseres Internetzeitalters ist es nicht mehr weit zum Patienten, Untersuchungsobjekt medizinischer Forschung, oft unnötig operiert und überteuert untersucht. Als Kassenfüller von Weltfirmen und Lobbyisten manipuliert, zur Zielscheibe von Werbestrategien, in denen Ritalin und Prosac wie bunte Lutschbonbons klingen und Botox Schönheit verspricht.
Instrumente, die in unseren Organismus eindringen, unsere Schutzhülle durchbrechen und uns präzise öffnen. Kühles Metall, fragiles Glas oder technisch funktional, werden die Gegenstände in der Form übergrosser Spritzen, Skalpelle und Infusionsbeutel als auch Mobelstücke wie ein Pflegebett oder ein steriler Nachtisch, scheinbar unbelebt in einer ästhetischen und präzisen Darstellung aufbereitet.
Der Betrachter erfährt über diese schön-unheimliche, wirklich-unwirkliche, unbelebt-lebendige Atmosphäre einen neuen Zugang zur Wahrnehmung einer gefühlten „Brutalität“ und findet Raum für weitere Assoziationen, mit all ihren Facetten und Varianten. So entsteht eine veränderte Perspektive der Wahrnehmung.
From the series Pop Art on Paper
April Fool’s Day: it does what it wants. Once again, a political spectacle was on offer that invited satire. The candidacy for chancellor in 2021 brought a wide variety of candidates such as Laschet, Söder, Merz, Maßen, and Spahn onto the stage to “fight” for the position. In the end, in the two-man show of Söder vs. Laschet, and in Bavarian costume, Söder reaches for power and pokes fun at his rival Laschet, who is wearing a Rhenish carnival cap. Visibly amused by these ups and downs, the federal eagle is also depicted, here with its wings raised. The collage uses the popular children’s game “Hampelmann” to point out the ridiculous goings-on on the political stage these days.
This painting presents an oversized symbol from the language of social media: the hashtag. A typical depiction of the crucified Jesus “hangs” on the vertical bar of one of the crosses formed by the symbol. This canvas composed in large fields of color reflects social media’s increasing influence on the information society. Are social media the new religion of the 21st century?
From the series Pop Art on Paper
The (now former) President of the USA, Donald Trump, can be seen stand- ing in front of an election poster of his challengers, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in front of a pinkwashed background. With the satirical depiction of the “thumbs up” gesture popular on social media, he practically discredits himself. An anticipation of the election result?
The installation Lililalaland, to be understood as a multi-layered satire on interpersonal relationships, deals with society as a whole, piled up as a pyramid-shaped sculpture. Satirical yet realistic insights into everyday situations are shown through placed text excerpts. The artist thus draws on elements of the avant-garde movement of Dadaism, which was characterized by absurdity, irony, and provocation.
The painting Nazi-Bride presents a film still from the 1919 silent-film drama Vendetta. It shows Pola Negri, Hitler & Göbbels’s favorite actress. Pose, expression and gesture exude harshness, a lack of empathy, arrogance, dominance and contempt. The figure seems ambivalent in her depiction with hard edges and lines: a nurse who does not seem to correspond to what is generally understood under that role and is instead more of a “bride” who pretends to want what is good, but creates evil.
In response to a question in an interview about my reaction to the massacre on October 7, 2023, I said: ‘I was shocked, extremely hurt, to the point of being deeply affected. Initially, a sense of helplessness spread. A new reality opened up, one that until then had only been known from history. An extreme, direct, and aggressive existential threat that I had not experienced before took hold. We were at the mercy of a new reality. Antisemitism was known, but in this magnitude, it seemed like a tsunami. Piece by piece, it slowly ate into the mind as the realization made room for madness. One understood a piece of 1933 as a contemporary phenomenon. Moments of fear and caution followed. But also anger and resistance.’ October 7, 2023 is a tribute to all the victims of the massacre.
The large-format acrylic painting contains words that give an insight into the main theme of the painting: the meat grinder processes the drama of a separation. The words “Remains of a marriage” are still legible, but already bear witness to the disintegration of a once deep bond.
The mixed media work Salzsäure / Hydrochloric (2023) is an interplay of various objects, consisting of a deformed blue bucket hanging from the ceiling, a red plush lobster, and a soft-looking flounder. The decisive element of the work is the inscription on the bucket, which reproduces the word “hydrochloric acid” in silver letters and thus serves as a reference to the thematic content: gender-specific violence against women in the form of targeted abuse, disfigurement, and attempted murder - such as the poisoning of girls and young women at Iranian educational institutions in 2023.
What is behind the beautiful appearance, behind the supposedly harmless everyday life? Based on Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel “Brave New World” (1932), this work aims to draw attention to the conditions and changes observed in 2008. Social change has already begun: the controlling Internet and social media are in their infancy, the global economic crisis of 2008/2009 shows the interconnectedness of the banking and real estate sectors. Where is the global financial crisis leading? The global shift towards the transparent individual is already underway. Which ideologies will we serve and when will we expose them?
In contrast to traditional art, which is often based on the beauty of the final product or the craftsmanship of the artist, the work is linked to interdisciplinary and experimental artistic creation, including conceptual art, and focuses on the intellectual exchange that underlies the work. A pearl necklace, the epitome of elegance and sophistication in contrast to the message shows the confrontation of a scandalous act with a sarcastic “Sorry”.
This object-painting presents the blood-red head of a deer in front of light-blue wallpaper featuring a repeating pattern of roses. A fashionable pair of men’s briefs hang from the painted antlers. This painting takes a critical and satirical look at the hunting trophy as a display of power and dominance. The attached briefs abstract this conquest onto a sexual plane. From a feminist perspective, this leads to the association of a woman conquering a man and, from a homoerotic viewpoint, a man conquering a man — based on the model of conservative-elitist values.
This painting shows seven men in dark suits, white shirts and ties standing in front of a gray background and looking intently in the same direction. Their facial features allow us to identify different character traits, but the poses of their bodies are depicted schematically. Expression and pose demonstrate a concentration of power. It becomes clear that these are powerful men, politicians. What effect does this power have on the individual person, the viewer? How does she or he deal with the exercise of power, manipulation?
