Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!, SUPERFLEX, 60th La Biennale di Venezia
SUPERFLEX present Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! at the Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice
The theme of the Biennale Arte 2024 is Foreigners Everywhere, a suggestion that every place is filled with foreigners, and that we are all foreigners. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the exhibition focuses on artists who are foreigners, immigrants, refugees, or part of diasporic communities. It is in this context that SUPERFLEX was invited to reimagine their work, Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!
In 2002, posters with the words “FOREIGNERS, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE US ALONE WITH THE DANES!” were put up in the streets of Copenhagen as a comment on the increasingly reactionary immigration politics in Denmark. The phrase was an adaptation of French graffiti from the 80s, retooled for a Danish context. During the Danish EU Presidency in 2002, Denmark’s immigration policies also became a point of interest and discussion in the international press. The poster has since been widely presented in Denmark and abroad, including in exhibitions as a wall painting, and as a stack of free posters. Recognizing that political posters were often drowned out by the visual noise of the city, SUPERFLEX printed the text on an orange background, the color of an alert, so that it stands out in public space.
The message still resonates within the contemporary Danish political climate, especially in light of the fact that Denmark’s anti-immigration politics have continued to escalate, inspiring similar policies in other EU countries. In retrospect, Danish immigration polices seem like an avant-garde of xenophobic policy-making: today, all over Europe, parties on both the right and left run on platforms which stoke anti-immigrant sentiment and promise more closed borders.
The work asks: who is a “foreigner”? What constitutes an “us”? Over the last 20 years, populist politicians in Europe have increasingly used ideas of “us” and “them” to justify exclusion. I think that’s why this work has stayed relevant for a lot of people. It’s no longer about SUPERFLEX putting the work up in the streets. Other people have appropriated it, attached their own meanings to it. It’s become a collective message, something that can be modified and used by others.
– Bjørnstjerne Christiansen co-founder of SUPERFLEX.
For some, the poster represents a political stance against xenophobia; for others, it works simply as an iconic interior design element or a symbol of Danish self-deprecation. Since 2003, more than 100,000 posters have been distributed in Denmark. Additionally, there have been many adaptations of the poster, both tributes and critiques. The artwork has become embedded into the cultural consciousness of Denmark, and can frequently be seen in local cafes, restaurants, organisations, political spaces, listings on real estate pages, and living rooms. At the Biennale Arte 2024, SUPERFLEX exhibits the artwork in two forms. First, a stack of the original poster lays on the floor for visitors to take freely; 30,000 posters will be printed, ensuring that they once again spread far and wide. Second, a fast paced slideshow of images is presented as a video. The images provide a historical glimpse of how people have displayed the poster in both public and private spaces.
During the exhibition period, SUPERFLEX will also relaunch the poster campaign in Denmark, putting the artwork back in its original context of urban space; simultaneously, the National Gallery of Denmark will display the work and make the posters available to the public.
The graphic design for Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! is by Rasmus Koch. This project is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
SUPERFLEX present Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! at the Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice
The theme of the Biennale Arte 2024 is Foreigners Everywhere, a suggestion that every place is filled with foreigners, and that we are all foreigners. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the exhibition focuses on artists who are foreigners, immigrants, refugees, or part of diasporic communities. It is in this context that SUPERFLEX was invited to reimagine their work, Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!
In 2002, posters with the words “FOREIGNERS, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE US ALONE WITH THE DANES!” were put up in the streets of Copenhagen as a comment on the increasingly reactionary immigration politics in Denmark. The phrase was an adaptation of French graffiti from the 80s, retooled for a Danish context. During the Danish EU Presidency in 2002, Denmark’s immigration policies also became a point of interest and discussion in the international press. The poster has since been widely presented in Denmark and abroad, including in exhibitions as a wall painting, and as a stack of free posters. Recognizing that political posters were often drowned out by the visual noise of the city, SUPERFLEX printed the text on an orange background, the color of an alert, so that it stands out in public space.
The message still resonates within the contemporary Danish political climate, especially in light of the fact that Denmark’s anti-immigration politics have continued to escalate, inspiring similar policies in other EU countries. In retrospect, Danish immigration polices seem like an avant-garde of xenophobic policy-making: today, all over Europe, parties on both the right and left run on platforms which stoke anti-immigrant sentiment and promise more closed borders.
The work asks: who is a “foreigner”? What constitutes an “us”? Over the last 20 years, populist politicians in Europe have increasingly used ideas of “us” and “them” to justify exclusion. I think that’s why this work has stayed relevant for a lot of people. It’s no longer about SUPERFLEX putting the work up in the streets. Other people have appropriated it, attached their own meanings to it. It’s become a collective message, something that can be modified and used by others.
– Bjørnstjerne Christiansen co-founder of SUPERFLEX.
For some, the poster represents a political stance against xenophobia; for others, it works simply as an iconic interior design element or a symbol of Danish self-deprecation. Since 2003, more than 100,000 posters have been distributed in Denmark. Additionally, there have been many adaptations of the poster, both tributes and critiques. The artwork has become embedded into the cultural consciousness of Denmark, and can frequently be seen in local cafes, restaurants, organisations, political spaces, listings on real estate pages, and living rooms. At the Biennale Arte 2024, SUPERFLEX exhibits the artwork in two forms. First, a stack of the original poster lays on the floor for visitors to take freely; 30,000 posters will be printed, ensuring that they once again spread far and wide. Second, a fast paced slideshow of images is presented as a video. The images provide a historical glimpse of how people have displayed the poster in both public and private spaces.
During the exhibition period, SUPERFLEX will also relaunch the poster campaign in Denmark, putting the artwork back in its original context of urban space; simultaneously, the National Gallery of Denmark will display the work and make the posters available to the public.
The graphic design for Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! is by Rasmus Koch. This project is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
SUPERFLEX present Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! at the Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice
The theme of the Biennale Arte 2024 is Foreigners Everywhere, a suggestion that every place is filled with foreigners, and that we are all foreigners. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the exhibition focuses on artists who are foreigners, immigrants, refugees, or part of diasporic communities. It is in this context that SUPERFLEX was invited to reimagine their work, Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes!
In 2002, posters with the words “FOREIGNERS, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE US ALONE WITH THE DANES!” were put up in the streets of Copenhagen as a comment on the increasingly reactionary immigration politics in Denmark. The phrase was an adaptation of French graffiti from the 80s, retooled for a Danish context. During the Danish EU Presidency in 2002, Denmark’s immigration policies also became a point of interest and discussion in the international press. The poster has since been widely presented in Denmark and abroad, including in exhibitions as a wall painting, and as a stack of free posters. Recognizing that political posters were often drowned out by the visual noise of the city, SUPERFLEX printed the text on an orange background, the color of an alert, so that it stands out in public space.
The message still resonates within the contemporary Danish political climate, especially in light of the fact that Denmark’s anti-immigration politics have continued to escalate, inspiring similar policies in other EU countries. In retrospect, Danish immigration polices seem like an avant-garde of xenophobic policy-making: today, all over Europe, parties on both the right and left run on platforms which stoke anti-immigrant sentiment and promise more closed borders.
The work asks: who is a “foreigner”? What constitutes an “us”? Over the last 20 years, populist politicians in Europe have increasingly used ideas of “us” and “them” to justify exclusion. I think that’s why this work has stayed relevant for a lot of people. It’s no longer about SUPERFLEX putting the work up in the streets. Other people have appropriated it, attached their own meanings to it. It’s become a collective message, something that can be modified and used by others.
– Bjørnstjerne Christiansen co-founder of SUPERFLEX.
For some, the poster represents a political stance against xenophobia; for others, it works simply as an iconic interior design element or a symbol of Danish self-deprecation. Since 2003, more than 100,000 posters have been distributed in Denmark. Additionally, there have been many adaptations of the poster, both tributes and critiques. The artwork has become embedded into the cultural consciousness of Denmark, and can frequently be seen in local cafes, restaurants, organisations, political spaces, listings on real estate pages, and living rooms. At the Biennale Arte 2024, SUPERFLEX exhibits the artwork in two forms. First, a stack of the original poster lays on the floor for visitors to take freely; 30,000 posters will be printed, ensuring that they once again spread far and wide. Second, a fast paced slideshow of images is presented as a video. The images provide a historical glimpse of how people have displayed the poster in both public and private spaces.
During the exhibition period, SUPERFLEX will also relaunch the poster campaign in Denmark, putting the artwork back in its original context of urban space; simultaneously, the National Gallery of Denmark will display the work and make the posters available to the public.
The graphic design for Foreigners, Please Don’t Leave Us Alone With The Danes! is by Rasmus Koch. This project is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.