The car is an important symbol of success in post-war Germany, and an important metaphor for artist Thomas Kilpper. He sees the closing of German factories and the outsourcing of manufacturing to developing countries with low wages as a mirror of the international refugee scenario. Kilpper takes things literally in Resist! Oder let it be!, using car bonnets as his canvas on which to carve statements of politics and economics.
Picked up in scrap yards, the bonnets undergo a tattoo process – drypoint etchings into the old paint. His scenes are statements on the social situations affecting the world, and a reaction to the powerlessness many feel. Political and popular figures are rendered in portraiture amid scenes of modern Germany in an examination of capitalism, while in a similarly motor-themed installation, airbags from car accidents have been sewn together to hit visitors in the face in a less life-saving capacity. As his title suggests, it’s a case of do something or do nothing, and whichever you choose, Nagel Draxler Gallery is the place to see Kilpper’s work until 31 August.
