This Week in banned words and freedom of speech violations
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Dark… I know. Things have been getting pretty bleak, pretty damn fast.
During last week's We Still Really Really Need To Talk protest ( you can hear some of the speeches here), the police suddenly informed the Jewish organizers that they could not use the words "genocide" anymore—mid-protest. Several, including artist Stella Meris, were arrested for holding signs with the now-banned words From the River to the Sea* We Demand Equality— it didn't even say Equity, just Equality. *You can read a beautiful text on the origin of this deeply poetic slogan here.
The Berliner Senat has pulled funding from Berlin's most diverse cultural space, Oyoun, as they had threatened they would. We had shared Oyoun's public plea for Freedom of Speech a few weeks back, as did most of you. They are now threatened with closure. That is a massive blow to Berlin's cultural community; please read up on this issue, sign, and share their Open Letter so they can fight this decision.
I have wondered at the speed with which the German government has managed to override fundamental freedoms of expression and speech. They have banned some normative symbols of national identity, like flags and scarves. I mean, not all flags and all scarves, just the "antisemitic" ones. And of course the mayhem of cancellations in the cultural sector.
Artist Anais Duplan, trans and neuroqueer meditation teacher, postcolonial literature professor and artist founder of the@afrofuturist.center received a letter from the director Museum Folkwang cancelling their exhibition, on Afrofuturism of all things. The email cites Duplan's Instagram post referring to Genocide in a Gaza as antisemitic and on the basis of the 2019 BDS resolution “regretfully cuts all ties effective immediately”. True to form the artist shared the whole letter on Instagram- here.
How did this all happen so fast? It is almost as if they were ready for it. I texted a friend, and it turns out they were. This article is long and hard to follow, but it is worth reading. Long story short, in 2018, almost every German State (14/16) and the Federal Government established an Anti-Semitism Commisioner Bureau; the system was built over the last five years. The much-cited federal anti-BDS resolution was signed in 2019. A German governmental machinery was put in place to police citizens in the name of a perceived threat, you say? What in the deja-vue, bureaucratic hell? It gets worse.
A lot of these newly appointed keepers of philo-semitic sentiment, aka pro-Israel advocacy, are white German men. NONE OF THEM IS ACTUALLY A JEW. Not one.
Asked why Germany had decided to develop its anti-semitism system so aggressively in recent years, the country's top bureaucrat Felix Klein didn't mention that in 2017 the AfD was the third party in the parliament or that the extremist politician Björn Höcke gave a speech calling for "a 180-degree turnaround in memory policy"—in other words, advocating for Germany to stop commemorating the Holocaust. He didn't mention any of that. He invoked the 2015-2016 refugee crisis instead, which led to a sharp increase in the number of people from the Middle East in Germany. The dark-skinned ones, that is, and some leftie Israelies, we also don't know what to do about. "The country seems to increasingly reassign responsibility to an internal "Other," its immigrant population." It is the "imported anti-semitism" that requires special efforts, so Klein.
Were you holding your breath?
Let me recap real quick. It is the year 2023, and Germany has a full-fledged Governmental agency in place to police its mostly non-German, non-white immigrant population in the name of a white minority they don't even pretend to include in the process. Right on.
"When asked what the government's position was about the dual citizen German/Israelis held hostage, a politician from Germany's governing coalition responded, in private: “Das sind doch keine reinen Deutschen, which translates to: well, those aren't pure Germans. He didn't choose from a host of perfectly acceptable terms to refer to Germans with dual citizenship; he didn't even use adjectives such as richtige or echte to refer to them not being full or proper Germans – instead, he used the old Nazi term to differentiate between Aryans and non-Aryans.” - from Deborah Feldman's Guardian article.
Just this week, an FDP politician said, "Grundrecht steht nur Deutschen zu", the constitution only applies to Germans ( what she should have said is German citizens, but potato-potato) and suggested suspending the right of assembly to, you guessed it, "Ausländer": all foreigners. Convenient, as said Israeli lefties immigrating to Berlin in the last years are also foreigners.
My dear German friends and followers, I have been writing this newsletter (parts of it) for the last decade. I chose to send my son to a German school here in the States because I believe in the German culture's fairness, tolerance, and eco-friendliness. (Also, studying in Germany is free).
I understand it in my heart, having grown up amongst you and being taught by German and Austrian teachers, that the Holocaust Memory is something you take exceptionally seriously; it is a national guilt that has defined your psyche and every interaction. I feel you; I have seen you shut down myriad times to avoid entering complicated, complex, nuanced conversations where you lose the sense of what is correct and proper or, worse of all things, risk being called "anti-semitic." I also know questioning the authorities goes against every fiber of your DNA. But, let's face it, this is what got you in trouble the first time. The time to be uncomfortable is now. Speak up.
The book 'TIDINGS' is a playful exploration of the concept of information overload. The form of the analog book challenges the viewer to actively deal with this flood. The reference to the tides in the title suggests a specific structure and rhythm. It is less about translating this rhythm into an exact graphic representation than about the symbolic alternation of high and low tide, mass and emptiness and the search for order in a seemingly endless expanse that can be both attractive and overwhelming in its unmanageability.
"Waves of delicate curves rise and fall on white paper pages in colors ranging from deep blue to pale azure. Changing in form and intensity, in variations and repetitions, the waves set a visual rhythm reminiscent of both the structures of a musical score and a tide chart. However, there is no emptiness here, no ebb. The overlapping, simultaneous tidal representations of several coasts and seas unite several imaginary landscapes into a never-ending, moving tide, a permanent presence.
What seems to mitigate the constant "tide" one is confronted with in "Tidings" is the continuous rhythmic pattern, which, albeit irregular, offers the viewer some calming pauses, and which challenges one to create order through comparison and retrospection, through the search for connections and distancing." (Excerpt from the text "Tidying the tide" by Eleni Mouzourou)
16 Nov-16 Dec 2023 einBuch.haus
Florastraße 61
13187 Berlin
The solo exhibition will feature three distinct series of ink drawings: "Semantic Shadows," "Liminality," and "Beyond the Horizon." "Membranes" is a profound exploration of the concept of membranes as selective barriers that define and protect, both physically and symbolically. In this exhibition, Saša Pancic challenges viewers to contemplate the hidden layers of reality within his drawings. His work transcends mere representation, delving into the depths of perception, bridging the divide between external and internal, physical and psychological, historical and super-historical. Pancic's ink drawings display organic, gestural brushstrokes, evoking a sense of immediacy and depth reduction.
The biological end of female fertility affects half of the world’s population at some point. Even though not all women suffer from menopause, about one-third of the female population experiences a wide range of symptoms, of which the so-called Big Five are most common (hot flashes, vaginal discomfort, sleep disturbances, depression and muscle- & joint aches). With the removal of taboos, education and empowerment, it quickly becomes clear how much good this phase can do for women, our environment and the community. The workshop provides an entertaining explanation of the basic biological phases and symptoms associated with menopause and demonstrates how the change can be experienced differently. The question however, of why we still associate femininity with fertility leads directly to political issues, which will also be discussed in the workshop.
Art Laboratory Berlin
Prinzenallee 34
13359 Berlin
Workshop Explore Menopause: It Could Be the Best Time of Your Life! with Nicola Hochkeppel, Illustration: Gabriele Heinzel
Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:00 Opening of Night Swimming at SCOTTY - Add to my map
with Christine Atkinson, Lucy Wood Baird, Roberta Gentry, Karl Ljungquist
With artists spanning the media of painting, sculpture, photography, and collage, Night Swimming is a rumination on material's role in translating and documenting records and information. The included artists use diverse material to track time accumulation or record fleeting yet precise moments and events. Producing documents that function as both mementos and translations that are organized and realized via each artist's material and conceptual lexicon. The resultant works create an archive of fluctuating objects, translated snapshots, and material and visual accumulation. The show's title, "Night Swimming," alludes to the experience of attempting to navigate a murky and vast space while only being able to sense what is in your immediate vicinity. The memory of spaces once seen in the light, the instability of buoyancy, and the lack of stillness in the act of swimming in darkness mirrors the disoriented and vulnerable translation of recollection found in the works included in the exhibition. Like the world obscured by night and water, a clear understanding is just out of reach.
Live-Performance (online) | Reading Group SURROGACY, with Dr Anindita Majumdar
In context of our series PERMEABLE BODIES, Art Laboratory Berlin launches a series of online reading groups as fork-out project of UNBORN0x9 shown in the exhibition Matter of Flux. Initiated by Shu Lea Cheang and Ewen Chardronnet with Future Baby Production, UNBORN0x9 reflects on the techno-scientific developments in obstetrical medicine, its social, cultural, philosophical and prospective implications and to offer an artistic view of the science in the making. Guided by a LEADER with 10 registered READERS, the online reading group aims for in-depth research/studies and motivates public debate on these topics of concern.
Art Laboratory Berlin
Prinzenallee 34
13359 Berlin
pictured: Helen Kaplinsky’s belly
Sun, 19 Nov 14:00-18:00 Sonntag Berlin - Asako Iwama: A Mound of Shells at Sonntag
Asako Iwama @asako____ will be showing her work at the next @sonntag_berlin titled A Mound of Shells on 19 November from 2-6pm!
We will be serving her favorite cake: Obsttorte - with fresh fruit in elderflower jelly atop a light sponge cake presented on a gorgeous handmade plate by @studiojuliesorel
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Location information to follow next week @sonntag_berlin
CLUB TELESTERION - Viron Erol Vert VIEW FROM ABOVE - Mariechen Danz
As the second to last part of their exhibition series Speaking to Ancestors, Keumhwa Kim and Pauline Doutreluingne introduce two Berlin-based artists*: Viron Erol Vert and Mariechen Danz present expansive, site-specific installations in the Kleiner and Großer Wasserspeicher in Prenzlauer Berg, in which sound, video, projection, and sculpture melt together. Inspired by mythological narratives and contemporary rituals, the focus is on the human body's relationship to cult and knowledge.
The artists combine journeys into the ancient underworld with today‘s club culture and invite us into the world of technocratic and astrological sign systems. What they have in common is understanding human beings as complex, transcending beings.
until Dec 9 geometric bodies, kitsch and aspects of power at Axel Obiger – Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst – Add to my map
Katharina Reich / Saeed Foroghi
Katharina Reich makes “social sculptures”. Her métier is all manner of collections: objects whose use, language and stories are drawn from swaps, loans and refuse. By gathering, arranging and rearranging, she creates spaces that prompt new forms of engaging with origins and histories.
Saeed Foroghi: „Gibst du mir einen künstlerischen Kuss?“ Diese Frage stellte mir meine Mutter, als ich fünf war. Für sie begann die Kunst im Film – nämlich dort, wo das wirkliche Leben endet. In meiner künstlerischen Praxis setze ich mit der Frage „Wann ist Kunst“ statt „Was ist Kunst“ auseinander und dabei erforsche ich das Verhältnis zwischen „Kunst“ und der „Wirklichkeit“.
Cinematic storyteller and American artist Fran Forman constructs visual narratives that articulate the deep loneliness that characterise contemporary society. The staged compositions lay bare the paradox of the digital age: separation despite global interconnectedness. Forman’s position as part of the Baby Boomer generation brings a rich understanding of socio-political changes in society to ‘The Color of Absence’. In bleak, familiar settings, all generations feel the personal effects of growing societal polarisation. Remarkably, the artist readily implements new technological advancements into her practice, with AI as another tool in her inventory. BBA Gallery discovered Forman through the 2022 BBA Artist Prize shortlist. ‘The Color of Absence’ marks her first solo exhibition in Berlin and Germany.
until 16 Dec 2023 BBA Gallery
Köpenicker Str. 96
10179 Berlin
The work of Queer photographer – and one of the key figures of the New York punk and art scene – Jimmy DeSana (1949–90), who died of an AIDS-related illness at age 39, is still not as widely known as it should be. The retrospective exhibition, which opens at Meyer Riegger in Berlin on Friday, 3 November, brings together over 50 works from all phases of his brief career, from the 1970s to the late 80s, combining themes of sexual liberation and Queer aesthetics with the consumerist conformity of the American Dream.
