The relationship a country has to its flag is a good indicator of the feeling towards its nationality. Just four years ago a young German band had posed for a photoshoot wearing the colours black-red-gold. It had caused an outcry and they were bashed by the feuilletons for promoting unreflected nationalism. So it was a shocking sight at first when during the world cup German flags appeared everywhere. But through this experience the flag has undergone a reappropriation and today it signifies the unitiy of the German people.
But how does it feel being German? Since I had lived abroad for many years and only recently returned to live in Berlin (which has nothing in common with the rest of Germany ...) the question of nationality is something I had to deal with all the time. In the UK being German defined me and made me a representative of an entire country. In Berlin I can be just myself again and it was fascinating to rediscover a country which had changed considerably during my absence. My feelings towards being German are very ambiguous.
My aim was to respond with an image which wasn't taking itself too serious. I wanted to create three characters expressing the different sentiments I have towards my nationality. Based on the colours of the German flag I created a sad, an angry and a happy sausage. I chose to use sausages on a plate to make visible how these different sentiment are equal and exist side by side. Only by reading the title the expressions of the sausages take on meaning. It is posed as a question because your nationality is something which can only be defined in relation to other nations.
As national identity exists within the realms of ideas and I didn't want to produce an object (like a framed print). Instead the illustration is supposed to be painted directly onto the wall. As such it becomes part of the room rather just being placed in it.
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