Always political in his approach to artistic production, Rirkrit Tiravanija’s work has addressed the relevance of public protest and criticism of economic structures since the early 1990s. Interweaving narratives of political resistance, street culture, and social engagement with pivotal art historical references, the presented work is characteristic of his practice.
Punctuating the built urban landscape, Tiravanija’s nine lines of illuminated neon verse are at once critical and self-reflective. Echoing former generations’ protests against war, class inequality, and capitalism, the
neon slogan is presented in the convention of an obsolete advertisement.
It concludes with an iconic phrase by French Situationist Guy Debord, one of the frequently recurring figures in Tiravanija’s projects: ‘If the days of this society are numbered, then it is in the vitality of the youth of this and the coming generation who will have to fight for their right to exist.’
