The series “Hautnah (-TIER-)” stages the dehumanising and inhumane nature of war and military conflict in general as a physical, personal, painful, permanent, and objective experience. It reflects how language itself can expose mechanisms of violence, control, and objectification.
The focal point is tattoos
reading “TIER” (animal in German) placed on different body parts
and across different identities: on soldiers—whether freshly
recruited or deserting—on humans in camps or prisons, or as henna
tattoos on women, framing women as a distinct category within
military conflicts, including as targets of gendered violence. All
become inscriptions on the body under systems of coercion.
Within
these linguistic constellations, only one term—“profiTIERen”—deviates
from the direct register of violence. While the others relate to
coercion, humiliation, imprisonment under inhumane conditions, or the
denial of basic needs, “profiTIERen” instead points to a more
abstract, systemic logic: it exposes meticulous calculation, greed,
moral detachment, opportunism, selfish gain, and cruelty embedded in
structures that benefit from violence rather than directly enacting
it.
All works are part of the exhibition “wAFFENstillstand in friEDENsgefährdeten Zeiten”, Chapter 3, 21 March – 16 May 2026. On view 24/7, Display window, Atelier 12, Münzgrabenstraße 24, Graz, Austria.
* “Hautnah” (German: literally “skin-close” or “up close”) refers not only to physical proximity and intimacy, but also to experiencing something in a very personal, direct, and immediate way. In this context, it also points to the inscription of political and systemic violence directly onto the body.
"rekruTIERen" (de)
de. rekrutieren = en. Recruit
de. Tier = en. animal
"deserTIERen" (de)
de. desertieren = en. desert
"deporTIERen" (de)
de. deportieren = en. deport
"malträTIERen" (de)
de. malträtieren = en. to maltreat / to abuse / to mistreat
"inhafTIERen" (de)
de. inhaftieren = en. to imprison; to detain
"profiTIERen" (de)
de. profitieren = en. to benefit; to profit (from something)
