Garden (Berlin), Vase by VEB Haldensleben East Germany, vase by Carstens Tonnieshof in West Germany, soil, lettuce, The Wikileaks Files: The World According to US Empire by WikiLeaks, Brexit: How Britain Left Europe by Denis MacShane, Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz, Die Berliner Mauer by Hans-Hermann Hertle, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, dimensions variable, 2016.
Two vases sit on two piles of books. They were produced by VEB Handesleben and Carstens Tonnieshof, in East and West Germany respectively, formed from the
separation of the Carstens Uffrecht factories after the division of Germany. The vases, symbols of the effects of political ideology, are on display while the books (a selection of literature on the current political zeitgeist, human history and existentialism) remain sealed by the weight of the vases, nothing more than elaborate plinths. The vases are planted with lettuce, an ancient symbol of infertility and death.
separation of the Carstens Uffrecht factories after the division of Germany. The vases, symbols of the effects of political ideology, are on display while the books (a selection of literature on the current political zeitgeist, human history and existentialism) remain sealed by the weight of the vases, nothing more than elaborate plinths. The vases are planted with lettuce, an ancient symbol of infertility and death.