Interview: Florian J. Haamann, Puchheim
It’s not often that a work of art in the county sparks heated debates on social media. But that’s exactly what a graffito has achieved that the three artists Discop, Lando and Scout sprayed on the facade of a building on Puchheim’s Alois-Habeck-Platz. Among other things, it is described as hurtful for people fleeing Ukraine or even as Russian propaganda. It shows a Ukrainian and a Russian soldier kissing, underneath the flags of both countries and the words “Sisters and Brothers”. The Russian flag has now been described by unknown persons with the words “murderers”, “terrorists” and “war criminals”.
SZ: Two soldiers hugging and kissing, one with the Ukrainian flag on the uniform, one with the Russian one. What message should the graffiti send?
Discop: There’s more of an idea behind it than you might think at first glance. The motif is a homage to the “socialist fraternal kiss”, which has already been parodied on the Berlin Wall. But instead of brothers we have two wives, on the one hand to clearly distance ourselves from the actual fraternal kiss and from socialism. Second, the pose is an allusion to a Dolce and Gabbana commercial from Russia, which has received a lot of criticism and was even under discussion for being banned because it depicts homosexual acts. The criticism in our work of art is in the detail.
The social networks criticized that the graffiti could hurt the feelings of the refugees. What do you think of this criticism?
It’s criticism that, as an artist, you might not understand or don’t want to understand at first glance. Of course, there were noble intentions behind it, since we also collected donations for the Ukraine with the motif. But well meant is not well done in the end. Maybe a bit more “mainstream” would have done the motif good. There are similar motives for the war in Ukraine across Germany, whether with two women, as in Freiburg, or as a Russian and Ukrainian tank, which together form a peace sign – it remains to be seen what the feedback will be like. In the end, every single work is an appeal to humanity and peace.
What thoughts did you have when dealing with the comments on social media?
Personally, I find it very disheartening to try and label every single Russian as an enemy, and I have to say that a lot of the comments on social media have worried me a lot. There are many, many videos by Ukrainians and Russians themselves showing young Russian prisoners between 18 and 21 years old. Young soldiers who cry and say repeatedly that they didn’t know what was happening and that their orders were kept secret. Russians who sabotage their own vehicles simply run away or take to the streets and protest this war in Moscow, even though they face arrest or worse. This actually shows us that there are many people who do not want this war and that this is only Putin’s war.
What other feedback did you get for the artwork?
Basically, the feedback was very positive at first glance. Whether from Mayor Norbert Seidl, the Puchheim cultural association or individual people via Instagram, Twitter, friends and relatives. There were also people with a direct connection to Ukraine who saw no more than two people who wanted peace – but were born under “the false flag”.
In the meantime, the graffiti has been partially smeared. Is this a legitimate form of dialogue?
I think that’s legitimate when we’re talking about graffiti. The messages that emerged from the work are a form of critique, as if it were the unfiltered voice of the street. I really like the contrast between people taking photos and enjoying them and the heated tempers venting on the Russian symbolism. That’s part of it, that’s street art. If we didn’t manage to create a mirror image of the current climate with the work, it was precisely these messages. Personally, I would be happy to receive even more messages.