ART and the City - München

"Present Continuous" - Henk Visch

Back to the Future

The inhabitants of Munich disparagingly call it "Blutkotzer" (roughly: he who pukes blood). Put up in 2011 on the front lawn of the Egyptian Museum in the Bavarian capital, the aluminium statue by the Dutch sculptor Henk Visch is acutally titled Present Continous.
Nacked, humanoid and without arms, the figure is 3,6 meters in hight. Despite being bent over, it, thus, seemingly towers over everything. Although the statue is a rather abstract representation of a human being, clearly devoid of any identifying and possibily essentializing gender markers, one striking feature stands out:  a red staff that extends from the staute‘s forehead to the ground and into the subterranean chambers of the museum below. Although at first glance this particular detail merely seems to be a technical necessity, supporting the statue's head. Taking a closer look, the red staff also has a more symbolic meaning. As it visualises the figure's line of sight, it indicates not only something that has yet to be discovered. The staff also connects the present outside of the museum with the past inside, inviting every onlooker to take a trip back in time, while serving as a colossal reminder of that ancient past in the present.