JONAS STAAL. OTHER-THAN-STATECRAFT #2: NEW UNIONS

National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens

Other-Than-Statecraft #2: New Unions is an artistic and political campaign founded by artist Jonas Staal in 2016, with the aim to assemble international, transnational and Pan-European political organisations and social movements to re-imagine the future of the European Union. The neo-constructivist stars in this installation, some disappearing and others emerging from the floor, represent the stars of the flag of a Europe in crisis and transformation. The red wedge references constructivist artist El Lissitzky’s famous poster Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, 1919. In this installation the red wedge represents the efforts towards a new Pan-European union based on social, feminist and ecological principles. The stars are flanked by a mural, in which they have reassembled to form a new symbol for a pan-European union. As progressive political parties and social movements across the continent seek a new collective imagination to overcome political, economic and ecological crises, the neo-constructivist stars join their practice of ‘beyond statecraft’ to imagine – and construct – the new unions we desperately need.

Jonas Staal is a visual artist whose work addresses the relationship between art, propaganda and democracy. Staal’s practice includes installations in public spaces, exhibitions, lectures and publications. He has founded and directed artistic and political organisations and campaigns, including the New World Summit, the New Union, the New World Academy (in collaboration with the BAK art collective), the utopian preparatory education Training for the Future (with Florian Malzacher), the Obscure Union (with Laure Prouvost) and the Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes (with Radha D’Souza).

jonasstaal.nl