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WP_1.6 Warm Welcome or Entry Denied, Francesco Gioacchini

As we excitedly prepare ourselves for the opening of cultural spaces in Berlin and some of us have already filled their impfausweis with stamps, many borders remain closed and freedom of movement remains somewhat restricted  for some this is more true than for others.

Artist Francesco Gioacchini questions the freedom of movement and how this is affected by one’s nationality, as he traverses the borders of identity and difference for the latest edition of the Window Project 1.6: Francesco Gioacchini.

A warm welcome or entry denied – where the European citizen needs only a valid identification card and a boarding pass to cross borders, others may run into more difficult barriers; such as their flags. As Gioacchini’s ID #2, Non-Priority #2 and A Warm Welcome (2021) encapsulate the ease of movement of those born under the European flag, his 2018 work Sissily positions the national emblem as an obstacle instead – reacting directly to Trump’s so-called “Travel Ban” on seven predominantly Muslim countries in 2018. By presenting these works together yet divided in the two windows of Prenzlauer Studio, a contradictory tension emerges as Gioacchini questions the meaning of citizenship, borders, and what it means to recognise oneself in a flag.