Simon Wachsmuth

The construction and reconstruction of history are key themes in Simon Wachsmuth´s oeuvre. The artist´s starting point for his interest in the importance of legends for cultural identity and the inconsistencies in the writing of European history is Piero della Francesca´s “Legend of the True Cross“ fresco cycle. In his painting series entitled “Fehlstellen“ (Imperfections) Wachsmuth transfers the missing and destroyed parts of the frescoes onto canvas using black paint. A fictitious cartography emerges, to which he adds current newspaper cuttings covering Turkey´s accession to the EU and old photographs of Istanbul. By juxtaposing the Crusaders´ Conquest of Constantinople, portrayed in the frescoes, with the discussion on the EU´s external borders, Wachsmuth reveals the constant ideologisation and shifting of power relations between East and West.