Poetry of the moment. 2023

Poetry of the Moment – 2023
A transformation of the exhibition originally shown in March 2023 at Kunstraum St. Georgen in Wismar – reimagined within the monastery church of Kloster Rehna, as part of the 13th Monastery Festival on June 17 and 18, 2023.
www.kloster-rehna.com


What else should we dream of in times of war, if not of peace?

What is truly worth fighting for?
What is truly worth living for?
And – if it must come to that – what is ever worth dying for?

If not peace, then freedom. If not freedom, then justice. Humanity.

It may seem strange – even foolish – to speak of poetry in days like these. While war rages, while the world tilts on its axis, while the headlines scream, this exhibition insists on a quiet word: poetry.

And yet – perhaps that is exactly what remains. A space where language falters and still dares to speak.
A space where art does not explain but opens.Where thought and feeling are not opposites but companions.
This work begins with questions.

No slogans. No certainty. Just questions.
They are not answered in text, but in image. A white flag, hanging. Tilted. Out of balance.
It leans, as if listening. As if falling.

Because something is wrong.
In front of it – two sprayed lines, blue and yellow.
The colours of Ukraine.
Also tilted. Also unsteady.
Like the world itself.

Where did it go wrong?
My answer is clear: Russia invaded Ukraine. Tore through homes, villages, lives. Unleashed terror, and stripped away not just survival, but meaning. And yet – within this violence, a strange reversal.

Resistance rises. Not as vengeance, but as clarity. People stand. Not just against, but for:
For freedom, for justice, for dignity, for peace.

These are not abstract ideals. They are places of longing. They are real – when people choose to live for them.
And yes, sometimes, to die for them.

The white flag – so easily mistaken for surrender – is also a symbol of another kind of resistance.

It pleads:
Let the weapons fall silent.
Let reason return.
Let us see again – not with fear, but with human eyes.

And if not in war – then when, if ever, should we dare to dream of peace?