German artist Anne Imhof’s six “Want You Have been Homosexual” banners selling her solo exhibition of the identical title on the Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) in Austria have been slashed exterior the museum on Tuesday evening, July 23, in an incident Imhof described as an “act of violent aggression.”
Persevering with the venue’s almost 30-year custom, the banners emblazoned with the tagline in a varsity typeface had bolstered the efficiency and media artist’s ongoing exhibition of latest works since its opening on June 8. Imhof has characterised the present and her new physique of labor as a “love tune to queer coming of age” that “bears witness to the deep battle and hostility going through LGBTQIA2S+ folks on a regular basis, in every single place.”
The Bregenz police division is at the moment investigating the incident, in accordance with Imhof’s studio. A perpetrator has not been recognized at this stage. Hyperallergic has contacted police and Kunsthaus Bregenz for remark.
The slashed billboard banners have been found on Wednesday morning, prompting Kunsthaus Bregenz Director Thomas D. Trummer to difficulty an announcement decrying the vandalism as “a cowardly assault on artwork and on human rights.”
“Homophobia has no place in our society,” Trummer reiterated.
Imhof, who referred to as the assault a “hate crime” on Instagram, assured followers and mates that the banners would get replaced as quickly as doable, noting that the vandalism “can’t take away our hope for a world free from homophobia and free from discrimination for every one among us.”
Presently, the broken banners have been altered to learn “Want You Have been Tolerant” in response to the assaults.
The vandalism incident has drawn statements in solidarity with Imhof and the LGBTQ+ group. “I’m saddened and shocked concerning the act of violence towards the six billboards of Anne Imhofs present Want You Have been Homosexual at KUB, hurtfully showcasing that individuals all over the world and their inventive apply are nonetheless underneath assault for who they’re,” German artist Katharina Grosse wrote on Instagram.
