There is not a flag

Billboards / lightboxes / banners by Oliver Ressler

2013-2016

Each photograph shows a parliament, covered by a giant flag. A quote by the US-American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn located at the lower picture margin reads: “There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” This sentence, formulated 1986 as a reaction on the US-bombings of Tripolis, comes to our mind, given the fact of the huge refugee-tragedy taking place along the borders of the European Union. The politics of exclusion, implemented by the European Union and supported by the member states, is responsible for the death of thousands of refugees. The flag – until recently a symbol to give shelter for the weaker, is now a cloak for hostile human rights decisions cast in a legislative mold.

Visualization: estudio elgozo

“There is not a flag”. Installation view: “De-heimatize It”, IV. Berliner Herbstsalon, Berlin, 2019 (photo courtesy: Maxim Gorki Theater)
“There is not a flag”. Installation view: “Fear of the Unknown”, Kunsthalle Bratislava, Bratislava, 2016 (photo courtesy: Kunsthalle Bratislava)
“There is not a flag” (Slovak parliament), billboard, Bratislava, 2016.
In the framework of “Fear of the Unknown”, Kunsthalle Bratislava, 2016
“There is not a flag” (Slovak parliament), billboard, Bratislava, 2016.
In the framework of “Fear of the Unknown”, Kunsthalle Bratislava, 2016
“There is not a flag” (Slovak parliament), billboard, Bratislava, 2016. In the framework of “Fear of the Unknown”, Kunsthalle Bratislava, 2016 (photo: Lenka Kukurova)
“There is not a flag” (Austrian parliament). Billboard in the framework of:
Chto Delat, “Face to Face with the Monument”, Into the City/Wiener Festwochen, Vienna, 2014
“There is not a flag” (Austrian parliament). Billboard in the framework of:
Chto Delat, “Face to Face with the Monument”, Into the City/Wiener Festwochen, Vienna, 2014
“There is not a flag” (German Bundestag), banner, 900 x 340 cm, 2015.
Installation view: MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, 2016 (photo: Rafał Sosin)
“There is not a flag” (German Bundestag), banner, 900 x 340 cm, 2015. Installation view:
“Utopian Pulse – Flares in the Darkroom”, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, 2015
“There is not a flag” (Italian parliament), LED light box, 180 x 87 cm, 2016. Installation view:
“Transnational Capitalism Examined: Border as Method” (solo show), The Gallery Apart, Rome, 2016