Sex doll attracts attention at German president's residence

Sculpture by Frank-Walter Steinmeier is one of the highlights of the exhibition
Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance
Bronze sculpture is part of an exhibition held at Bellevue Palace. The event is a rare opportunity for the public to visit the site, which will be closed for renovation. Placed in a suggestive pose, the green bronze sculpture that reproduces the torso of a Japanese sex doll caught attention and gained prominence on social media, mainly due to the place where it was installed: the official residence of the President of Germany in Berlin. State.
"Eva", installation by artist Alexandra Bircken
Thomas Brinkmann
The place will open its doors to a temporary art exhibition that starts this Saturday (13/06) and runs until June 28th. Organized by the Berlin Academy of Arts under the patronage of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the exhibition can also be seen as Steinmeier's farewell to the Bellevue Palace.
"We need art. A democracy without free art loses its capacity for self-criticism, and art without freedom loses its social relevance," said the German president before the opening of the exhibition.
The Bellevue Palace was emptied for a renovation that will last around eight years. As Steinmeier's second and final term ends next year, he is not expected to return to live there. During this period, he will move to a temporary residence close to the German capital's central station.
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Art and democracy
The exhibition brings together contemporary art in various forms, such as video and audio installations, photographs and traditional paintings. The aim is to provoke reflections on democracy, power, representation and public life.
In Germany, artistic freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution and considered one of the strongest fundamental rights in the legal system.
Even before entering the building, Christian Awe's gigantic installation of the word Freiraum (free space) on the roof of the palace serves as the exhibition's main statement on artistic freedom.
As you enter the lobby, you hear a constantly repeated Hallo (Hello). It is a performance staged by the artist Jochen Gerz in 1972, entitled Rufen bis zur Erschöpfung (Calling until exhaustion).
In the performance, the artist repeated his greetings in the void until he lost his voice. The work can be interpreted as an allusion to the limits of expressing oneself, especially at a time when social networks encourage the constant search for attention. In a democratic context, when citizens' appeals remain unanswered, frustration increases and can lead to a feeling of social exhaustion.
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A painting at the entrance, by street artist El Bocho, titled Die Bundespräsidentin (The President), imagines a woman occupying the position of Germany's head of state.
Artist Karin Sander created a miniature version of Steinmeier. Her sculpture, 36 centimeters tall, stands on a pedestal in the political speech room.
Meanwhile, Eve, the provocative bronze sculpture, confronts visitors with questions about the body, gender, sexuality and the objectification of women. The fact that such an intimate theme is exposed in the formal environment of a state palace creates tension and raises questions about the representation and control of bodies in society.
The exhibition also includes works by renowned artists, such as Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans and Monica Bonvicini.
The Bellevue Palace, a former 18th century Prussian royal residence, became the official residence of the President of Germany in 1994. It is not normally open to the public, so the exhibition is also seen as a rare opportunity to see the inside of the building.
But only those who managed to reserve one of the exhibition's 35,000 free tickets will have this opportunity. Tickets sold out quickly after becoming available last month.
Author: Elizabeth Grenier
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Source: G1