Six billboards by the German artist Anne Imhof have been vandalised “in an act of violent aggression”, the artist said in an online statement (23 July). The billboards, emblazoned by Imhof with the words “Wish You Were Gay”, were damaged in the Austrian city of Bregenz, where they are currently on show. Imhof, who represented Germany at the 2017 Venice Biennale, further described the defacement as a “hate crime”.
The works were recently installed in one of Bregenz’s main thoroughfares, Bregenzer Seestrasse, as part of the artist’s exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz (Wish You Were Gay, until 22 September).
In a statement posted on Instagram, Imhof said that “the billboards serve as a space for public art and are a tradition of the museum since 1997. Destroying them is not only an assault on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two spirit and questioning people but an assault on the community of Bregenz”. The billboards, designed in collaboration with the Zak Group, a London-based art and design firm, will be replaced as soon as possible, she added.
Thomas Trummer, director of the Kunsthaus Bregenz, added in a statement: “This is a cowardly attack on art and our human rights. Homophobia has no place in our society.” In a email to The Art Newspaper, the museum confirmed that police have since opened an investigation into the incident.
Imhof describes the “Wish You Were Gay” project—which includes bas-reliefs, large-scale oil paintings, sculptures and stage elements—as a love song to queer coming-of-age and a “testament to the beauty and strength” of the LGBTQ+ community. However, she says it also bears witness to the “deep struggle and hostility LGBTQ+ people face everyday, everywhere”.
The Wish You Were Gay exhibition explores “absence and presence set against a backdrop of post-apocalyptic isolation”, a museum statement said.
Bregenz police were contacted for comment.
