Destroy My Face (2020) by Erik Kessels was part of BredaPhoto festival in 2020 but the artwork was removed after a week of display. Online criticism had risen on multiple social media platforms...Show moreDestroy My Face (2020) by Erik Kessels was part of BredaPhoto festival in 2020 but the artwork was removed after a week of display. Online criticism had risen on multiple social media platforms stating that the work incited violence towards women. The activist group ‘We Are Not a Playground’ also published an open letter demanding that the work be taken down. These events were framed as an example of ‘cancel culture’: an online phenomenon where people are publicly shamed and silenced for crossing societal norms. In this thesis I investigate the events surrounding Destroy My Face in relation to destruction, censorship and ‘cancel culture.’ I argue that ‘cancel culture’ can function as a tool for resistance to the dominant narratives in society, especially for marginalized groups. However, it can fall into the trap of creating a mere spectacle to be consumed by the public instead of raising critiques.Show less
The purpose of this research is to describe how iconoclasm is taking shape in contemporary Italy, by analyzing and comparing the “Mussolini Dux” obelisk in Rome with the statue of Indro Montanelli...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to describe how iconoclasm is taking shape in contemporary Italy, by analyzing and comparing the “Mussolini Dux” obelisk in Rome with the statue of Indro Montanelli in Milan: while the former resisted any form of iconoclasm from the post-war period until the present day, the latter has been recently subject to several iconoclastic acts. The different ways in which the public engages with these two monuments reveal that iconoclasm in Italy is driven by international influence, that is nevertheless resisted when it comes to challenging strong national ideologies like fascism. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this research suggests that iconoclasm is not opposite bur rather complementary to collective memory, as it recognizes the importance of remembering rather than forgetting. Iconoclasm is the phenomenon that make us remember that memory must be kept alive by demanding new interpretations of the past. However, this research also shows that this is not the way collective memory and iconoclasm are understood in Italy today.Show less
