Bienal de Pontevedra

This work by Hans Haacke refers to the protests that took place in 1989 in the former German Democratic Republic, when demonstrators chanted 'Wir sind das Volk' (We are the people) in front of the Volkspolizei, the Police of the regime. This slogan was crucial for the fall of the socialist regime and the process of German unification. In 2003, xenophobic groups appropriated this slogan to express their rejection of immigrants and refugees. Haacke, by recovering the slogan, transforms it into a message of support for these people, who are today confronted with racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance around the world. The work is exhibited on the façade of the Pazo of the Provincial Council of Pontevedra, a building charged with political symbolism. In this installation, the slogan 'Wir (Alle) sind das Volk' is written in the official languages of Spain, as well as in the languages of the eight most represented immigrant groups in the country, according to the data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics: Spanish, Arabic, Ukrainian, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Portuguese and German. This piece underlines the need to convey a common message of inclusion, resistance and recognition of diversity, showing that Haacke's work continues to challenge not only the structures of art, but also the social dynamics that determine who is excluded.