A white man in a white overall paints white walls white. Not exactly the same white, but a slightly different shade. Covered up as pragmatic gesture of casual spacial cosmetic, the performance An Other White happens within an already open exhibition. Its score determines precise guidelines for the quality of the job, as well as potential conversations with guests. For instance, the paint is put on the walls in a dilettante fashion, and the performer is not an artist, but someone who was engaged to do this job.
The fact that »An Other White« might be overseen as an artistic intervention, is symptomatic for the problem that it addresses: It is a kind of public whitewashing of an already white space – as gesture, or maybe as solidary protest, it is only valid as long as it happens. Afterwards, the walls will be simply white, without an comparison one will not see a difference. In the end the action didn’t make a difference.
Are we, as artists, doing enough to engage ourselves with our art for better conditions and equal rights for all people? The answer this performance states is always: No.
Photos by Volker Crone.
