Regina José Galindo

»We will not demonstrate good manners – we will not keep more silence.« A group of women, armed with axes and steel tubes, destroys a BMW, symbol of patriarchal power and capitalistic exploitation.

Foto: © Egbert Trogemann, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn

Thousands of German women were sexually assaulted at the end of the Second World War. Not only by Soviet but also by French, English and US-American troops. Seldom do they talk about this due to shame, guilt and political circumstances. But the body of the German as the body of thousands of other women around the world was taken as spoils of war. Regina José Galindo took testimonies of rapes committed by the Allied forces and asked older women from Berlin to read them out loud.

Speakers: Liz Schmidt, Henriette Bothe, Gisela Trentmann-Schrick, Erdmute Schlusnus, Annette Rentz-Lühning

In a performance Galindo carried out in Italy in 2016, men and women of various ages, layer by layer, pile up a gigantic pyre as an act of communication. The work forces us to face the historical acceptance of witch burning and its continuing legacy. The burning of witches laid the foundations for a patriarchal society that still justifies lynchings against »deviants« and »invaders« as a legitimate form of defense.

Photo: © Egbert Trogemann, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn

Regina José Galindo has been presenting this statement in public spaces of different cities of the world since 2017. Using the language of the biblical commandments, it is both criticism and challenge, while being unequivocal in its declaration: »You shall not rape!« To this day, sexual violence has not entered the moral codex of collective condemnation, unlike murder, theft, lying and blasphemy. Seemingly self-evident, Galindo’s statement clearly reveals this omission.

Regina José Galindo No violarás (Du sollst nicht vergewaltigen), 2013, Courtesy the artist

Photo: © Egbert Trogemann, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn

The 2013 performance recorded in this documentation refers to the trial of Guatemalan president Ríos Montt, who was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity that same year. The hearings revealed the atrocities committed in Guatemala over 36 years, particularly against the indigenous population. »– How did they killed the people – the persecutor asked. – First they ordered the operator of the excavator to dig a hole. Later the trucks filled with people parked in front of the Pine Tree, and one by one, they got out of the trucks. They did not shoot them. Many times they stabbed them with a bayonet. They ripped open their chests with bayonets, and they fell, slaughtered, into the pit. When they filled the pit, they allowed the excavator to fall into the pit on top of the bodies.«

Photo: © Egbert Trogemann, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn