German artist Anne Imhof’s six “Wish You Were Gay” banners promoting her solo exhibition of the same title at the Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) in Austria were slashed outside the museum on Tuesday night, July 23, in an incident Imhof described as an “act of violent aggression.”
Continuing the venue’s nearly 30-year tradition, the banners emblazoned with the tagline in a varsity typeface had bolstered the performance and media artist’s ongoing exhibition of new works since its opening on June 8. Imhof has characterized the show and her new body of work as a “love song to queer coming of age” that “bears witness to the deep struggle and hostility facing LGBTQIA2S+ people everyday, everywhere.”
The Bregenz police department is currently investigating the incident, according to Imhof’s studio. A perpetrator has not been identified at this stage. Hyperallergic has contacted police and Kunsthaus Bregenz for comment.
The slashed billboard banners were discovered on Wednesday morning, prompting Kunsthaus Bregenz Director Thomas D. Trummer to issue a statement decrying the vandalism as “a cowardly attack on art and on human rights.”
“Homophobia has no place in our society,” Trummer reiterated.
Imhof, who called the attack a “hate crime” on Instagram, assured fans and friends that the banners would be replaced as soon as possible, noting that the vandalism “cannot take away our hope for a world free from homophobia and free from discrimination for each and every one of us.”
Currently, the damaged banners have been altered to read “Wish You Were Tolerant” in response to the attacks.
The vandalism incident has drawn statements in solidarity with Imhof and the LGBTQ+ community. “I am saddened and shocked about the act of violence against the six billboards of Anne Imhofs show Wish You Were Gay at KUB, hurtfully showcasing that people around the world and their artistic practice are still under attack for who they are,” German artist Katharina Grosse wrote on Instagram.
