DIKTAT

Diktat is premiering a new body of work by German artist Eric Meier. Meier, who was born in 1989 in East Berlin, is known to bring together personal biographical points with socio-political topics in his artistic practice. The historical period after the collapse of the socialist system is of particular interest to the artist. In his works with photography, sculpture and video, Meier conveys the effects of the fall of the Berlin wall and he tries to draw lines from the mistakes and omissions of the 90s and 00s in East Germany to the present nationalist populist movements, not only in Germany but also outside. Meier’s work investigates symbols of collective failure and its aesthetics. He is searching for traces of a society seemingly left behind, and along this journey, he finds pictures originating some decades back but that are relevant and politically urgent today more than ever. Eric Meier’s exhibition Diktat at Valletta Contemporary (VC) happens at a time when the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall takes place, when Malta finds itself to execute its part of the EU’s external border, and worldwide nationalism and authoritarian thinking have reached an unpredicted level. Meier takes these current topics as a context for an artistic investigation, to confront the irreducible plurality of our world. Using large black and white photographs, video and sound, as well as sculptural works and an on-site installation work developed specifically for VC’s exceptional architecture, Diktataims to confront the visitor with unconscious perceptions of our present. Starting with a strong interest in places, the artist is questioning the status quo of the conditions and agencies of the social and political structures related to these entities. However, Eric Meier’s works can be considered as screens, open to the viewer’s own experiences, memories and conceptions of identity rather than historic documents.