Victor López

Placed directly before the Kaiser Wilhelm Bad in Bad Homburg, the installation Frei wie ein Vogel? (Free Like a Bird?) – an oversized birdcage – stands on one of the most prominent sites in the park. Geographically framed by the casino and the neo-Renaissance façade of the spa, the work comments on two economic pillars of Bad Homburg: the spa and gambling. In this context, it inspires reflection on the concept of freedom, about which Lopez says, ‘The concept of freedom is neither limited to the experience of its lack, nor to the individual belief that we ourselves are free. It is defined in a social structure, within which we must be able to ask questions. What is the value of freedom in our society? Where do we feel its real limitations? Is our system a huge cage of limits that we are unaware of, in which we remain and that we accept because we have our little piece of freedom?’ The installation Sozialer Wille (Social Will) also engages with this issue. The contradictory placement of ‘artful dog toilets’ and signs reading ‘No Dogs Allowed!’ provides food for thought.