Work of art destroyed

Hatred of memorials against violence on Ringstrasse

Despite all the violence, the powerful message remains visible and legible.(Bild: Lukas Zimmer)

The photo series, which is currently setting an example against abuse and domestic violence in Vienna, has apparently also struck a nerve with the perpetrators: The panels were slashed and trampled on several times. The artist is shocked by this public display of misogyny by the perpetrators.

As if the haunting photo-text combinations were not disturbing enough: Unknown perpetrators have trampled and slashed the works with which artist Robert Fleischanderl addresses the abuse of women and children on the Ringstrasse and in front of the Museumsquartier - repeatedly and systematically. This is not vandalism for the police either: they are investigating hate crimes.

Surprised by the extent of the hatred
Fleischanderl believes that the chances of solving the crime are slim. He told the "Krone" newspaper that he had expected hatred against the artworks, but never on such an "enormous symbolic scale". The artworks are not insured. For exhibitions in public spaces in particular, either the security requirements or the premiums to be paid are so high that it is really out of the question for artists.

Fleischanderl depicts 14 different stories of abuse and domestic violence in a total of 82 image-text combinations.(Bild: Lukas Zimmer)

Both the texts and the images are authentic and depict, for example, the interrogations of the women concerned and the scenes of the crimes.(Bild: Lukas Zimmer)

The everyday nature of the images is intended to make people think about what is hidden behind seemingly peaceful facades.(Bild: Lukas Zimmer)

Only to be seen in Vienna after hate attack
The sad consequence of the vandalism is that the panels, which were repaired in a makeshift manner by Fleischanderl and outraged passers-by, are no longer intact enough for the planned traveling exhibition. There is no money available for replacements: "It was already so difficult to set up the budget for this". The panels, or what was left of them, will therefore only be on display in Vienna until December 10.

35 panels destroyed

35 panels from the photo series "Why aren't you laughing?" along the Ringstrasse, and thus the majority of the exhibition section there (the second part of the exhibition is in front of the Museumsquartier), were destroyed by unknown persons on five different nights, sometimes several times in a row.

The hatred towards the artworks is reminiscent of the destruction of the portraits of Shoah survivors that were exhibited in the same place five years ago. For Fleischanderl, the two acts are nevertheless "not comparable", as back then it was about political right-wing extremism and now it is about the perpetrators' personal motives. What is sad, however, is that "the more often something like this happens, the less of an outcry there seems to be."

From Fleischanderl's point of view, the perpetrators' motive is obvious: "sheer hatred of women". And it was his intention to shake things up with the emotionalizing images, in this respect his artworks "worked very well. But I would have preferred it not to have happened". Nevertheless, the perpetrators have not won a victory: Fleischanderl's memorial is also available as a book, which is already safely at home with many buyers.