Globally acclaimed poster now displayed in Teterow, sparking ongoing demonstrations

In the heart of the art world, the Teterow Gallery is currently hosting the "Hamster & Friends" exhibition, a unique showcase commemorating the 60th birthday of Joachim Hamster Damm. This exhibition, which runs until September 6th, offers a captivating blend of works from the anarchistic era and recent pieces, including a self-portrait painted on NVA bedding.

One of the most striking exhibits is a protest poster created by Joachim Hamster Damm himself. The poster, hastily put together and placed on two broomsticks, depicts the Intendant of the Schwerin Theater, Hans-Georg Wegner, making a fat appearance on a stage at the top, while the dismissed actors are shown making a living as gardeners or physiotherapists on the street below.

The protest was sparked by the dismissal of many actors at the Schwerin Theater, a wave of dismissals that Hamster considers excessive. The creator of the poster remembers the tense situation during the protest, despite the jubilant crowd, with the National People's Army (NVA) on standby with 50 rounds of ammunition and Stasi present.

The poster's motif became famous and soon adorned the covers of magazines worldwide due to the attention of western photographers. It even made it onto the front page of the New York Times. The picture, an original poster that became a symbol during a turning point in history, features the picture of the short-term interim head of state of the ailing GDR, Egon Krenz.

Joachim Hamster Damm, who was a student at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee at the time, went on to work as a set designer and actor at the Puppentheater Neubrandenburg and took on set designs for directors like Leander Haußmann and Frank Castorf in Berlin. Ronald Lippock from the East German underground punk bands "Ornament & Verbrechen" and "Rosa Extra" is one of the friends presenting their work in the exhibition.

On September 6th, Joachim Hamster Damm will host a closing event during the gallery's opening hours, where old friends and contemporaries are expected to attend. The Teterow Gallery also currently has a prominent picture of a wolf with a nightcap and the inscription, "Grandma, why do you have such big teeth?"

As the "Hamster & Friends" exhibition comes to a close, it serves as a poignant reminder of a tumultuous era in German history, while also celebrating the artistic journey of Joachim Hamster Damm.

Globally acclaimed poster now displayed in Teterow, sparking ongoing demonstrations