Wolfgang Tillmans’s pre-Brexit poster campaign has been refreshed ahead of the Dutch general election on March 15, where the possibility of a “Nexit” — the exit of The Netherlands from the European Union — will be pushed by right-wing political parties.
Teaming up with Fantastic Man founders Jop van Bennekom and Gert Jonkers, Tillmans has issued a new set of pro-EU posters, which are available to the public for free from today at Foam Amsterdam, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art, De Balie, and Cookies.
“The EU is not a faceless machine but the representation of 508 million people,” the three men say in a statement sent out from Tillmans’s studio. “While surely there are still many things to be improved, the core belief in this institution has secured the longest period of inter-European peace and cooperation in history. A democratic conversation between 28 member states is tedious — but it ensures a steady dialog, a constant weighing of the many different demands involved in making each single decision. These processes foster safety and stability, and allow us to call a whole continent something which would otherwise be much smaller: home.”
“With an increasing anti-European sentiment it becomes ever so more important to speak out and reinstate the position we believe in. Enraged nationalism is slowly becoming normalized in today’s political discourse by far-right politicians. It spews hate and anxiety,” the statement continues, concluding, “Cooperation not confrontation. Protect the EU.”
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush