Democracia 

Enjoy the Collapse / Silencio, 2020
Urban intervention during the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic, London, 13 June 2020
Documentation Single Channel Video, 8′ 52′
Photo: Nick Beard
Video: Lorcan Fox

Courtesy of the artists and a/political

Silence, 2020
Urban Intervention in the run-up to the second round of presidential elections on 12 July, Underpass of Świętokrzyska Metro Station, Warsaw, 2020
Documentation Single Channel Video, 2′ 27”
Photo & Video: Bartosz Górka

Courtesy of the artists and a/political

 

On 13 June, thousands had marched through London in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Democracia, in solidarity with those protests and in recognition of the systemic silencing of the destitute by the government and the law enforcement, projected an image of a riot policeman on government buildings (Silence). Earlier that day, the phrase ‘ENJOY THE COLLAPSE’ was displayed on a mobile billboard that circled the US embassy, Parliament Square, where it confronted a gathering of the extreme right, and finally joined Black Lives Matter protests in Hyde Park. 

A month later, Democracia intervened again with an image of a riot policeman, this time in Warsaw during a run-up to the second round of presidential elections. A multiplied policeman was displayed across LED screens at Warsaw’s Świetokrzyska underground station. This intended disruption was a stark reminder of assaults on civil rights, now directed at LGBT+ communities, but reflective of the wider abuse of police entitlement.