The term "barbarians of the upper class" is derived from a dictum of the British minister of justice Kenneth Clarke, who declared all participants of the riots – that took place in London in 2011 – as criminals and as "barbarians of the lower class". Premier David Cameron disposed severe punishments and actions of disciplining, fighting the "decline in values" as he called it. The politics of his Conservative Party, which supports the rich through neoliberal politics of tax privileges, endorsements of tax havens, etc. forced radical austerity programmes and cutbacks of the social sector. The systemic restructuring for the benefit of the upper-class does not only include financial and tax advantages, but also social-political agendas like the extreme increase of charges of tuition fees, of costs in education and healthcare, etc. David Cameron and his party denied any relation between this bottom-up redistribution and austerity policy and the riots.
The exhibition deals with systemic and symbolic violence, often not apparent and anonymous, that provokes subjective violence as a reaction (often apparent, bound do individuals). The shown works explore different realms of systemic violence of capitalism, analysing different forms of masquerade, which are hiding this potential of violence. Immanent mechanisms of violence are central and not the agents of capitalism. Why systemic violence is so successful in acting invisible, without being discovered? Which masquerades are used? An ideologic masquerade, proclaiming social welfare for everybody, meaning in fact though the profit and richness of a few. The masquerade and the staging are perfectly hiding the fact, that there is not a moral pith, but a violent essence behind capitalism. What are the technologies of the adaptable and itself generating capitalism? What does these different masquerades of systemic violence hide and which role do they play within the social-political context?

Meriç Algün Ringborg collects in a book all existing visa application forms of the world. She refers to masquerades of systemic regulations, which institutionalise in laws mechanisms of exclusion and practices of hindrance. Søren Thilo Funder shows photos of selected pages of the autobiography of the Black Panther cofounder and chairman Bobby Seale. Søren Thilo Funder reduces the text of this book to notations of arms, visualising consequences of violence, its blank spaces and symbolisation within power political structures of legality and illegality. Marianne Flotron shows in her video work "Fired" a training situation, in which a manager is learning techniques how to dismiss employees. Marianne Flotron reveals coached behaviour as a method of neoliberal masquerade, uncovering its systemic potential for violence in the context of loss of labour. Florian Göttke explores representative levels and stagings of acts of symbolic disempowerment, using the example of the toppled statues of Saddam Hussein. They represent a totalitarian system as well as its deconstruction by the Bush regime. Naomi Hennig reverses ironically the term "Soros Realism" showing a portrait of George Soros in socialistic-realistic style. Naomi Hennig refers to Soros' practised methods of realising his ideas of an open society: among others, cultural resources, subsidy programmes and cultural centres were used to mask the violence of the transformation processes in the post-communist countries. MigrafonA reports in comics about the Austrian racist consensus, which is manifested, among others, in the so called immigration laws, in the hegemonic value- and science production as well as in historiography. In the comic drawings seven glorious fairy tale characters – The Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Town Musicians of Bremen, Pippi Longstocking, Allahdin and Caperucita Roja – meet at the foreigners' registration office exchanging their experiences with the hydra, the administrative machinery. The fairy tale characters are fictive, the story of systemic chicane real. In "Set Sail For the Levant" Olivia Plender takes up position against the educational mission of the board game Monopoly, that demonstrates systemically, how to act in a capitalistic society, factoring violence as a positive immanent component of the system. Pilvi Takala dressed up as Snow White in the original Disney costume performing as authentic Snow White in Disneyland. Promptly the security guards took notice of her, prohibiting to perform as an unofficial Snow White. The Disney concern and its territory Disneyland represent a closed system, claiming a monopoly on myth- and truth generation: Approximation and reinterpretation from outside are systemically prevented, reflecting ideological masking in the sense of, we are the good and the others are the bad. Mona Vătămanu & Florin Tudor show scenes of street fights between demonstrators and the police. The series of paintings was caused by the riots in Greece in 2008. The artists examine the role of the political imaginary within the dramatic reality, produced by the speculators of the financial market. A Norwegian amateur chorus is singing the Beatles song "Revolution"on the request of Katarina Zdjelar. The song is about the relation of revolution and violence, dealing with the refusal of violence as a means to change society in the context of the 1960ies. Katarina Zdjelar explores behaviour and its potential of modification at the interface of private and public spheres.

Events

Friday, 09.11.2012, 7 pm
Artist talk
Florian Göttke: Toppled - Staging the Symbolic Fall from Power

Wednesday, 16.01.2013, 7pm
Context and Subtext
Artists discuss their methods of production
Naomi Hennig: Friendly Capitalist. Soros and the Politics of Giving
Moderation: Seraphina Lenz
in cooperation with the Institute of Art in Context
Berlin University of the Arts, Department of Fine Arts

ratskeller – Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst
Möllendorffstraße 6, 10367 Berlin, Tel.: 030-902963712
ratskeller@kultur-in-lichtenberg.de
www.kultur-in-lichtenberg.de
Opening hours: Mon–Fri 10am–6pm
Metro station: Frankfurter Allee (S41, S42, S8, S9, U5),
Tram 16, M13