Pavlov's Children, 2024
This project, a tribute to the students I taught in Berlin, explores life under the repressive regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), focusing on restricted freedoms and the predetermined future imposed by the state. It reflects on how severe travel restrictions and political control symbolised a broader confinement, curtailing personal agency and reinforcing a sense of inevitability and stagnation. The educational system was a key tool for indoctrination, shaping obedient citizens and suppressing individuality.
In 1970, at the age of seven, I was asked to imagine the year 2000 under "Communism." Back then, the future seemed certain, with a clear path to a utopian society. However, as I grew older, the reality of the GDR’s repressive regime became evident, culminating in the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
On a recent visit to Berlin, I passed by the school where I began my teaching career, a place I hadn’t seen in 35 years. In the summer of 1989, I was abruptly transferred to another school. Though I couldn’t recall the interior, vivid memories of the schoolyard and the flag ceremony resurfaced. During that ceremony, central to instilling socialist ideology, students courageously raised handmade posters demanding I stay. Eight years later, I discovered in my Stasi file that I had been deemed "unsuitable," leading to my sudden reassignment.
Reflecting on that time, I found over 15 rolls of film with hundreds of black-and-white student portraits taken just before my reassignment. I encased each negative in resin moulds, then photographed and obscured them, to symbolise the suppression of individuality and serve as an artefact from an era when conformity was enforced, and dissent punished.
The title "Pavlov's Children" alludes to Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist known for his work on classical conditioning. Pavlov's experiments demonstrated how conditioned responses could be elicited through association. This project reflects how individuals, especially children, are conditioned by their environment, education, or social systems, similar to Pavlov's dogs.
The current glorification of the GDR angers me, as it belittles the suffering endured under its oppressive regime. As we witness a resurgence of authoritarian sentiments in contemporary politics, this project serves as a reminder of the dangers of nostalgia for oppressive regimes and the importance of vigilance in protecting democratic values.
printed on 10 x 8-inch black-and-white matte paper, mounted on foam board and installed with split batten fixings, giving the prints a floating appearance on the wall. The prints are arranged in a grid with equal gaps between them, and the display size is adaptable to the available space, ranging from a minimum of 24 images to a possible 120 or more.
In 1970, at the age of seven, I was asked to imagine the year 2000 under "Communism." Back then, the future seemed certain, with a clear path to a utopian society. However, as I grew older, the reality of the GDR’s repressive regime became evident, culminating in the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
On a recent visit to Berlin, I passed by the school where I began my teaching career, a place I hadn’t seen in 35 years. In the summer of 1989, I was abruptly transferred to another school. Though I couldn’t recall the interior, vivid memories of the schoolyard and the flag ceremony resurfaced. During that ceremony, central to instilling socialist ideology, students courageously raised handmade posters demanding I stay. Eight years later, I discovered in my Stasi file that I had been deemed "unsuitable," leading to my sudden reassignment.
Reflecting on that time, I found over 15 rolls of film with hundreds of black-and-white student portraits taken just before my reassignment. I encased each negative in resin moulds, then photographed and obscured them, to symbolise the suppression of individuality and serve as an artefact from an era when conformity was enforced, and dissent punished.
The title "Pavlov's Children" alludes to Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist known for his work on classical conditioning. Pavlov's experiments demonstrated how conditioned responses could be elicited through association. This project reflects how individuals, especially children, are conditioned by their environment, education, or social systems, similar to Pavlov's dogs.
The current glorification of the GDR angers me, as it belittles the suffering endured under its oppressive regime. As we witness a resurgence of authoritarian sentiments in contemporary politics, this project serves as a reminder of the dangers of nostalgia for oppressive regimes and the importance of vigilance in protecting democratic values.
printed on 10 x 8-inch black-and-white matte paper, mounted on foam board and installed with split batten fixings, giving the prints a floating appearance on the wall. The prints are arranged in a grid with equal gaps between them, and the display size is adaptable to the available space, ranging from a minimum of 24 images to a possible 120 or more.
