Moabit's Art Offensive
Turmstrasse is a busy thoroughfare in Moabit, just north of Berlin's city center. Lined with shops, drugstores, and döner stands that cater to the needs of the district's working class, it's a world away from Mitte's trendy galleries and precious boutiques. The shoppers here are more likely contemplating the rising prices of potatoes and socks rather than those of Chiharu Shiota pieces. So the recent "limits of artistic freedom" dust-up at Turmstrasse's Galerie Nord came as a bit of a shock. Founded three years ago to bring "Kunst und Kultur" to Moabit's mean streets, the gallery finally attracted the attentions of local residents with its exhibition ZOG - Surrend / Subversive Practice in the Public Space. It wasn't exactly the type of attention they would have preferred though, when six Muslim youths threatened violence unless the gallery staff removed a poster featuring a photo of the Ka'aba in Mecca below the words "Dummer Stein" -- "dumb rock." Refusing to remove the work, and fearing for the safety of their staff, the gallery closed -- only to reopen earlier this month, the gallery's staff now reinforced with two security guards and hourly police patrols. (photo)
The exhibition by Danish art-political provocateur group Surrend is not anti-Islamic, and the photo in question is actually part of larger critique of intolerance, xenophobia, and prejudice, condensed into the name of the exhibition -- ZOG is a reference to Zionist Occupation Government, a frequently used phrase in anti-Semitic world government conspiracy fantasies. But in light of recent Euro-Muslim controversies such as Geert Wilders' anti-Koran film Fitna and the republication of the Mohammed cartoons, the row is not exactly surprising, especially given Moabit's sizable Turkish population. Apparently two local girls walking past the gallery noticed the photo and snapped pics with their phones, later showing them to friends. Word spread, and the gallery was soon visited by curious area residents and, shortly thereafter, by the aforementioned youths. They demanded that the photo be taken down or otherwise 'stones would fly.' The gallery closed, the media seized on the event, and the chattering classes took to their usual hand wringing. The following week, with noticeably less fanfare, the gallery reopened with no changes to the exhibition beyond additional security and window blinds.
Jan Egesborg and his fellow Surrend artists are no strangers to controversy and offense. In fact, he's even been arrested while pursuing the group's aim "to make fun of the world's powerful men and crazy ideological conflicts" (while putting up posters in Vienna criticizing Vladimir Putin on the occasion of a state visit by the Russian leader). Wedged between Turmstrasse's cell phone shops and grocery stores, the small gallery has something to offend almost everyone. The preferred targets of its biting satire in this exhibition are Putin (re: killings of Russian journalists), Belarusian strong man Lukashenko (re: dictatorship, corruption), Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan (re: Kurdish oppression), Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI (re: pedophile priests), Israel (re: racism, Palestinian oppression), and especially the NPD, Germany's far right political party -- widely considered to be neo-Nazi. In response to the NPD winning enough votes to attain representation in two former East German states, Surrend produced posters (using designs derived from Nazi propaganda) suggesting that these states be either turned over to the Roma community as restitution for WWII atrocities committed against them or given to Russian energy giant Gazprom as part of a recreated Soviet empire. While critics may argue over the real value of Surrend's work, the exhibition has certainly achieved the gallery's goal of encouraging political and artistic discussions and debates among local residents. Unfortunately, not everyone grasps the subtle nature of the political satire -- certainly not the woman who, on the day I visited, stood outside (after being escorted from the gallery by security) shouting over and over at the top of her lungs her judgment that it was a "filthy Nazi exhibition". Just goes to show, even in Moabit, everyone's a critic!
ZOG - Surrend @ Galerie Nord
Turmstrasse 75, 10551 Berlin, Germany
Tue - Sat 14:00 - 19:00
until March 29
