"Completion!" -Live production by Dennis Josef Meseg addresses abuse in the Catholic Church

From April 20-23, 2023, the action artist Dennis Josef Meseg his current contemporary work on the Discovery Art Fair in Cologne to Stand AC8, a 30sqm exhibition area directly in the heart of the fair.

The work was entitled " Auftvo Te! " (Latin. I speak you free!) And dealt with the socially critical topic " Abuse in the Catholic Church and how to deal with perpetrators and those affected ".

It was a staging, among other things, with a Gothic confessional and six male nude models of different ages.

With the six nude models paintings living on site staged live, which were then kept motionless by the models between 10-20 minutes.

The staging should encourage every visitor to think and discuss , and visibility for this important topic.

"Completion!"

More than 2000 years ago, a twelve -year -old boy from Nazareth and his parents went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The little boy went to the temple alone and impressed the scribes with his wisdom (Lukas 2: 41ff).

This child became the cornerstone of Christianity and under his symbol, the cross, Catholic priests still announce the words of Jesus:

"Let the child come to me and do not defend them; because they belong to the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14).

For this reason, believing parents send their sons to the church, into Catholic boarding schools, boys and leisure facilities, in the hope that priests protect them from evil and pave their way into paradise. However, this path is peppered with many temptations that no child in the world can resist.

The confessional should offer help and is available in Catholic churches like a shelter. Here sins can be known and awarded by the absolution of the priest ( "Auftvo te!" ).

But what happens when the confessor himself becomes a wolf in sheep's clothing? If he not only breastfeeds his hunger, but the most precious violates what people have: their children? Disguised in expensive robes and preaching to preach the Word of God, they commit crimes that require forgiveness. They are wolves in sheep's clothing that hide behind a holy coat.

Dennis Josef Meseg's installation "Auftvo Te!" Sets a sign and confronts the heartless perpetrators with their guilt. Kneeling in front of your victims of abuse, you must ask for forgiveness for the suffering and the damage you have inflicted on young people. It is a first step back on the right path.

About the action artist Dennis Josef Meseg

"I am not a warrior with a sharp weapon, not a poet with a pointed spring, and no politician with power. I consider myself as an artist who loves the world and all its facets - people, animals and nature."

The sculptor Dennis Josef Meseg not only creates his installations so that they can easily sell them because they are beautiful and harmless, but because they have a lasting, socially critical statement. His art is supposed to reach people and immediately confront them with topics that often remain distant or abstract.

Topics such as consumption, environment, war, pandemics and the price of prosperity, others. His goal is to find a conversation with people with his installations, to reach them and to draw their view of topics that affect us all.

The recognition of his works of art drives him up. For example, his Corona memorial "It is like it is" the Creo Prize 2021 .

His current installation "Broken/(un) broken" , which draws attention to the worldwide suffering of oppressed, tortured and often killed women and girls, also finds great and mostly positive response. It is his confirmation that he can do something with his art.