World Trade Supermarkt
by Niklas Kuhlendahl (D), Shaun Motsi (CAN) and Catalin Werb (D)
Josef Ackermann, ‘Ché’ Guevara and Lenin have, maybe because of the current crisis, buried their political differences and become friends. Their willingness to compromise has been rewarded with: a new job! They’ve become the mascot team of a supermarket chain called “World Trade” which has just recently opened their newest affiliate in Berlin, at, of all places, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Like Zombies subsisting on the living political leaders and theorists, they flutter around the place, reminding us of the popular accusation that our generation/time was ‘apolitical’. Here we are at the pivotal point of the installation: We want to further inquire this common assumption and find out if it is rightful, or if not just the means or the appearance or the sphere of political struggle has shifted. In order to find out, our three alter egos approach the passing participants in capitalism, asking them for anything disposable which they can deposit in the ‘bad bank’. This litter is immediately turned into credit for the shopping basket. After having chosen a give-away, they are invited to leave a political slogan of their choice in our ‘supermarket of political vanity’, eventually creating a ‘zeitgeist-collage’. Of course, it is over the top to declare the resulting collage of stickers a representative compilation of present political attitudes, as the repertory of slogans was limited and predetermined. However, as a general reminder of other times when people actually dared taking a chance and trying to change the course of the processes affecting them, we hope it might have worked.
The way that the installation dealt with its surroundings could be called parasitic, as we used (even manipulated) the existing facilities for our purposes. We have to admit that the cubes framework was a piece of luck; originally we intended to use the billboard instead (which proved to be illegal). With our supermarket table and our supermarket soundtrack, it was possible to subtly evoke a distinct room amidst the public space – without having to visibly/physically border it. The many nice associations created by attaching a sign ‘World Trade Centre’ to an actual tower-shaped construction site are open to the passer-by to either appreciate or ignore.
Photos of the action:
Ackermann in action
At the supermarket.
Lady attaching a flyer.
Group Photo
Overview of the finished action.
documentation (pdf):World Trade Supermarkt
Tags: action, urban occupation
