Art of Revolution

at the Undercroft Gallery Norwich, 2017

UNAUFHALTSAM – ONCE IT STARTED – by Monika Wesselmann

The context
With this work, the focus is on the revolution of 1989 in former East Germany that is known as “the peaceful German Revolution”. It started when a small group of people began to meet for “Monday prayers” in the St Nicholai Church in the East-German city of Leipzig. The group made its way through the streets in a silent protest, carrying candles, and was quickly growing to become a huge crowd. Their slogan was “We are the people” and their brave, peaceful, non-violent Monday demonstrations against the communist GDR regime finally led to an unbelievable result, the collapse of the Berlin Wall. These people had started to move, they brought about change and freed themselves from a political system of oppression.

The work
The work takes up the nature of revolution, which is primarily characterised through phases of upheaval, new departures, changes, and signalling a fundamental paradigm shift. The quadripartite bas-relief that has been build up on canvases tells in a metaphorical language about the episodes of a change, and there is fluent transition from the prior to the next one. – The series of the images open the way into the future – it is understandable that there is no real end after the 4^thimage, and the viewer will probably think about continuation. – The joyful dance cannot last forever, and the outcome of even peaceful revolution can be very different. In the lucky case that it results in freedom for the people, another difficult process, the consolidation, is necessarily following, as freedom is the most precious and highly fragile asset, that needs awareness, appreciation, protection, and very often defence. Although the work initially stands for the peaceful revolution in Germany, it is also appropriate for the human condition in general, as all humans evolve and free themselves from different situations during their lives. This is included in the field of experience of individuals as also of groups or entire people, as life and history show. It is about the human spirit, struggles and longings.

Unaufhaltsam - Once it started

Unaufhaltsam - Once it started (detail)

The sculpture “Unaufhaltsam – ones it started” is available for exhibitions addressing similar themes. Please get in touch with me!