La Guerra Es Nuestra - The War is Ours

The second installation of Madrid Abierto that caught my eye is "La Guerra Es Nuestra" by Annemarie Ho & Inma Lee.

What I like about this one is that it demands that we cannot merely be passive in the world, be it with the war, the election, poverty, hunger, the gospel,... We are part of the world and thus whether actively or passively our decisions or lack thereof have an impact.

This picture is a little hard to see, but look at the top of the building where it says "La guerra es nuestra" in black. It is on Gran Via, one of the main big streets in downtown Madrid.

"The piece is a large sign with the statement "La guerra es nuestra" spelled out in black, back-lit lettering, which is attached to the façade of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.

The sign utilizes a format that is most often seen on storefronts -the viewer may initially overlook the sign, as we are often indifferent to new information and media that is constantly being introduced to us, but a second glance may procure a different reaction. Moreover, the placement of such a sign on a well-known cultural building leads to a juxtaposition of the political onto the beautiful and the historical.

The initial reference in the statement "La guerra es nuestra" is, of course, the war in Iraq. But the statement is also open-ended; the "war" or the "guerra" can refer to anything that incites concern in the viewer. In Madrid, this might be the activities of the Basque group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) or the need for more affordable housing within the city. The goal of the artists is to show that everyone is a voluntary participant in the political. Indifference is a statement, as much as waging a war or being involved in political activism." (taken from http://www.madridabierto.com/en/artistical-interventions/2008/annamarie-ho-inmi-lee.html)