Shoot the terrorist (1998) Globalodromia, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
How often do politicians declare war on terrorism, and who really suffers? The statistics show that it’s not the terrorists, but innocent civilians—children, women, the elderly—who bear the brunt of these conflicts.
Imagine a scene from a funfair or a video game: a carnival booth with a shotgun, empty cans stacked in a pyramid, and a prize for anyone who can shoot them down. This is how violence can be presented as a game, detached from its real-world consequences. But in this case, it wasn’t a carnival—it was the Statsbibliothek in Berlin. At the entrance, a bright green wall displayed haunting images of wrapped children’s bodies, carefully arranged and lined up.
Nearby, a pedestal held a shotgun, and beside it was a sign that read: “Shoot the terrorists.” The unsettling contrast between the innocence of toys and the brutality of a weapon forces us to confront how easily warfare is trivialized. What should be a serious, life-altering event is reduced to something that feels like a controlled, game-like activity. The disturbing message: how often is violence treated as a game, and how many innocent lives are lost in the process
Shoot the terrorist (1998) Globalodromia, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin