DEUTSCH MICH NICHT VOLL

©Deutsch mich nicht voll by Naneci Yurdagül

Artist’s Statement:

Why do you speak german so well? Where are you from? Do you want to go back to where you once belonged to? Naneci Yurdagül got tired of answering: I was born here, I am german and thus created in 2002 the phrase „Deutsch mich nicht voll“ © (Stop deutsching me). Back then he was part and performer of the self organized migrant group „Kanak-Attak.“ It is a community of different people from diverse backgrounds who share a commitment - to erase racism from German society. Kanak Attak is not interested in questions about your passport or origin. Kanak Attak is therefore anti-nationalist, anti-racist and rejects every single form of identity politics. They compete for a new attitude of migrants of all generations that they want to bring on stage, independently and without compromise.

“Deutsch mich nicht voll” raises questions about deutsch identity and what it means to be a german in 2007. In terms of the discussion about the “new” germany and the often claimed optimism Yurdagül printed a limited edition of T-Shirts with the slogan “Deutsch mich nicht voll” and distributed them on the worlds most famous art fair Art Basel in Switzerland in 2007. It is no secret that quite some of the swiss people don’t like the germans. Taking advantage of those prejudices Yurdagül decided to give those people a mean to show their opinion and by doing so becoming part of his art project. He wants people to talk about racism in and against germans, to fight racism where it appears in its early stage. It is most important to provoke to start a discussion then just to exclude the excluders. Especially the swiss media was really touched by a german with migrant background who talked about the swiss racism against germany even their tongue is german as well.

Naneci Yurdagül grew up in the Frankfurt suburbs. He is the child of turkish-syrian parents, but was raised by german foster parents. Due to his family situation and the enviroment of his childhood he had and has to deal with rassistic prejudices and identity issues. Even though he feels, talks and admires to be a german and of course is a german citizen, who was born in germany and raised by germans, germans regularly doubt his german identity.

Yurdagül studies at the academy for fine arts – Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main - in the class of Prof. Tobias Rehberger. He is using all kind of different medias and is especially dealing with formats in between installations, performance and conceptual art.


CULT-GEIST: The Modern German