Bereitschaft
Germany
Slovenia
2025
The German sculptor Arno Breker, praised by the Third Reich, made in 1939 a statue entitled “Bereitschaft” (“preparation”, “will to act” in english), representing a naked warrior drawing his sword, readying himself for imminent war. In 2023, this statue became a trend on TikTok, a symbol of masculine physical perfection and self-discipline in fitness. In a 4m-high video sculpture, Jakob Ganslmeier and Ana Zibelnik explore this glorification with fascist undertones. These tendencies not only command a masculinity imbued with misogyny, they also support physical stereotypes and practices increasingly extreme to achieve them, such as “bones-smashing”, which consists in breaking one’s jaw bones to make its squarer, or the use of surgery to obtain a “hunter’s gaze” with marked eyebrows and narrowed eyes.
Portfolio
About the artist
Jakob Ganslmeier (1990, Munich) and Ana Zibelnik (1995, Ljubljana) are an artist duo. Through photography and video, he and she question young people’s construction of identity and the influence extreme ideologies have on them. They are interested in how visual arts can counter radical political stories and increase awareness of social issues. Their works have been exhibited at FOAM Museum Amsterdam, Fotomuseum Den Haag, Brandenburg Museum of Modern Art and other venues.