Simon Schultz

Starting from the legendary Hamburg “Hammer Blow,” Hamburg-based artist Simon Schultz maps the close entanglement of queer identity, activism, and contemporary history. Until 1980, a police surveillance system in Hamburg public toilets collected names for so-called “pink lists” — until queer resistance smashed the mirrors with a hammer. The performative exhibition, including guided tours and workshops, traces the surveillance scandal of the 1980 “Hamburg mirror affair.” It extends to today’s urgent issues of art, activism, self-censorship, and social media. What was once the policeman behind the mirror has become today’s self-appointed TikTok moral guardians, whose mirror tricks call for new hammers. An explosive form of aesthetic historical research: beware of flying shards!

HAMMERSCHLAG is a walk-in installation that visitors can explore on their own or experience as part of a guided tour. In addition, talks, panels, and workshops will take place in the setting of the installation, linking the history of the surveillance scandal to the present day.