“Break what breaks you.” “Against the pressure to be normal.” “For the right to be disabled or sick.” So reads this ingeniously-designed sticker, affixed to a wall, in Oranienplatz, in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. (More…)
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The Goddess of Love is not normally associated with migrant advocacy. However, there is no mistaking the meaning created by the tandem placement of these two event flyers. Posted to a municipal billboard on the left side of Turin’s Askatasuna squat (an occupied house, or a social center, as they are referred to in Italy) the message is clear. (More…)
“Kinder, Kirche, Kuche.” Designating the social role of women, the old slogan continues to haunt Germany, today. Suffering the lowest wages in the EU (23.2% less than men) and amongst the poorest representation in corporate leadership (only 3.7 percent sit on the boards of listed firms, according to Germany’s Labor Minister) to foreign women with executive experience, such statistics can be shocking. (More…)
Contrary to popular belief, the Swiss right is not a single-issue constituency. In addition to its hostility towards immigrants, it is also profoundly misogynistic. Following the first annual international antifeminism meeting, I found myself in Zurich, where I encountered this sticker. I assume the two are related. The second anti-feminism conference was held this year. I wonder what other kind of protest art it generated.
Milan is the last place you’d imagine being able to live under a left-wing city government. Even with Berlusconi’s people out of office, for the first time in eighteen years. However, that shouldn’t dissuade you from consuming revolutionary-themed food products. Or your kitty, for that matter. Let’s face it: when it comes to eating, we all redistribute calories. Esselunga, October 7.
When I was in kindergarten, I was a tomboy, dreaming of skateboarding with the surfers. I wanted a pair of Vans, but they were hard to come by then. For some reason, I also wanted a Barbie doll. Maybe because the other girls had them. (More…)
He was the worst head of state in US history. The loser in the 2000 elections, he was installed in office only by court order. Unprepared for the 9/11 attacks, he led America into two major wars, one of which remains ongoing. During his last year in office, he presided over the collapse of the real estate and stock markets. George W. Bush, disguised as the bomb he was. Brick Lane, London. Feburary, 2011.
Forget cloud computing. What matters are the means of production. Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, Shanghai. July, 2009.
Format is always age-specific. Baby Boomer equals vinyl, or so it goes. Whether it be crate digger or fan, today’s vinyl fetishist also equals youth. One such generational mashup, mixing childhood nostalgia (“gli anni passano” or the years pass) with gender. Neighborhood thrift store, central Milan, 2010.
The briefcase isn’t quite wide enough. However, it makes for a macabre pedestal. Marche aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt, Paris. June, 2010.
The ideal place to index French multiculturalism. ‘Worldbeat’ can’t even come close. Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt, Paris. June, 2010.
Diego Rivera was here. US Army battle mural, 1991 Gulf War. Twentynine Palms, California. June, 2008.