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Scene from 2004: US soldier in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad
Photo: POOL/ AP
In an open letter, 15 artists criticize a work of art at the Berlin Biennale.
It shows photos of torture scenes from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The French artist Jean-Jacques Lebel has built a labyrinth of terror in the Rieckhallen of the Museum Hamburger Bahnhof from photos taken by US soldiers of humiliation and torture of Iraqi prisoners: large-format excerpts hang as canvas-sized prints on the walls and in the room.
“Soluble poison.
Scenes from the time of the American occupation in Baghdad« is the name of the installation.
Before entering the separate room, which cannot be seen from the outside, visitors are made aware of the gruesome depictions.
The lender of a work, Rijin Sahakian, opposed the work in an open letter signed by 15 artists.
It states, among other things, that the Biennale used "photos of illegally detained and brutally treated Iraqi bodies" under the US occupation in exhibiting the work.
These would be used for commercial purposes without the consent of the victims and without the participation of the Iraqi artists participating in the biennial.
Their works were installed next to the controversial work without their knowledge.
Biennale reacts: Discussions with the artists, statement planned
The Biennale pointed out on Wednesday that the two Iraqi artists had been offered other locations for their works.
One work has already been moved, and talks are still being held with the artist about the second work.
Curator Kader Attia is preparing a statement for the Biennale.
US troops abused Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison.
The scandal became known through the first publications in 2004.
During the legal processing in the years that followed, there were imprisonment and disciplinary sanctions for numerous US soldiers.
The twelfth version of the Berlin Biennale entitled »Still Present!« shows works by 70 art collectives and artists at six different locations until September 18.
The Berlin Biennale aspires to stand for committed art with a political profile »that faces the urgent questions of the present«.
mgo/dpa
