Bereitschaft - Opening

The German sculptor Arno Breker, one of the most prominent artists during the so-called “Third Reich”, created a statue in 1939 entitled “Bereitschaft” (Readiness). It depicts a muscular male body, a warrior drawing a sword, that was intended to symbolise the German people’s readiness for battle. The statue became a TikTok sensation in 2023, when it trended as the ideal male body image and a symbol of the self-discipline on display in gyms. In their almost four-metre high video sculpture Jakob Ganslmeier and Ana Zibelnik examine this glorification of the “sculpted” male physique as well as its fascist undertones. The piece illustrates how the radical pursuit of physical perfection goes hand in hand with reactionary tendencies, misogyny and a fascination for militarisation. Even though the majority of the content available on TikTok appears harmless at first sight, “Bereitschaft” manages to show how much mainstream visual language is co-opted and influenced by extremism. Jakob Ganslmeier (born in Munich in 1990) and Ana Zibelnik (born in Ljubljana in 1995) are an artist duo from The Hague (NL), whose photography and video projects examine identity formation in adolescence under the influence of extremist ideologies. They are interested in how visual art can counter radical political narratives and raise awareness of social issues. Their work has been exhibited in the FOAM Photography Museum in Amsterdam, The Hague Museum of Photography and the Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, among other places.

Admission included in admission to museum