Art against war
Thorsten Brinkmann is the Artist in Residence in Ypres.
Canaries served as living alarm systems in the trenches of the First World War. If the new, deadly weapon – poison gas – drew near, these creatures were the first to die, possibly giving the troops the chance to escape in time. The birds appear again in a work by artist Thorsten Brinkmann, their heads covered by what look like miniature gas masks. Since July 2014, the multi-piece, large-format work “Warfare Canaries” has been on show at a place that like no other is associated with the horrors of the First World War: Ypres in Belgium. A hundred years ago, this town in Flanders was the epicentre of the killing and dying. Those past events have, even today, left their mark on the place, which is committed to preserving their memory – especially in the centenary year 2014. With its interactive exhibition, the In Flanders Fields Museum brings home those events and their consequences to visitors from around the world. The new permanent exhibition features work by Thorsten Brinkmann, Artist in Residence at the museum until the beginning of 2015 and the first German artist to occupy this position. His installation invites visitors to reflect on war and peace. Born in 1971, Brinkmann lives and works in Hamburg. His works, which are often created from discarded everyday objects that he has collected, have already been shown at venues including the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
