In the shadow of the recent government corruption scandals, the light installation “reGIERung” casts it shadows at the right spot. “Regierung”, German for “government” and “Gier”, German for “greed”, is an explosive symbiosis, which describes a form of governance in which greed is a structural principle, not an exception. The state becomes an instrument of avarice, converting public resources, decisions, and institutional power into privately exploitable networks. War becomes an economically rational extension of this logic: territory, arms, and infrastructure are monetised, oversight is replaced by opacity, and the costs are borne by society. The state protects capital, not people. Conflict protects power, not justice. And the public pays for wars from which it derives no benefit.
In the first chapter of the exhibition “wAFFENstillstand in friEDENsgefährdeten Zeiten” (Krieg in der Sprache — Sichtbar durch verborgene Wörter), the light installation “reGIERung” forms a compound scenario with the typographic assemblages “bundeSAUßenministerium” and “wAFFEnhändler.” “bundeSAUßenministerium” plays on Bundesaußenministerium (Foreign Ministry) and SAU (pig), exposing the tension between official diplomacy and corruption, incompetence, or moral filth within state institutions. “wAFFEnhändler” fuses Waffenhändler (arms dealer) with the hidden word Affe (monkey), emphasizing the absurdity, chaos, and moral folly behind arms trading. The golden monkey holds its nose and points toward the cast “Gier.” Together, “reGIERung,” “bundeSAUßenministerium,” and “wAFFEnhändler” form a holy trinity of greed, institutional complicity, and the commodification of conflict. Visually and conceptually, they trace the pathways through which language, power, and profit intersect in times of threatened peace.
“wAFFENstillstand in friEDENsgefährdeten Zeiten” (War in Language — Made Visible Through Hidden Words) is an exhibition with rotating exhibits on the theme of war in local and global contexts. “reGIERung”, “wAFFEnhändler.” “bundeSAUßenministerium” are part of Chapter 1, 22 November 2025 – 15 January 2026. On view 24/7, Display window, Atelier 12, Münzgrabenstraße 24, Graz, Austria.
