In June 2024, feminist artist Sophia Süßmilch held yet another exhibition in her home country, Germany, this time at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück. Everything went according to plan until her exhibition caught the eye of center-right politicians from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, who called for the forced closure of the exhibit. This boycott led members of the public to send Süßmilch death threats, an unexpected turn of events considering the exhibition is a call for women’s rights. The focus of the exhibition was to call for women’s bodily autonomy, a topic that should no longer be a taboo in a nation that ranks sixth in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap list.
The exhibition in question is titled “Kinder, hört mal alle her!” (“Listen up, children!”) and is inspired by the globally loved German fairytale of the three little pigs, showcasing characters like pigs and wolves. The exhibition is also inspired by fairy tales in general, particularly how fairy tales come with dark undertones despite children being their primary audience. In the same vein, the exhibition wishes to caution children against the world and women against having children out of their own free will.
A particularly raunchy piece in the exhibition portrays an animal character who, in an attempt to save her children from wolves and the dangers of the outside world, chooses to eat them instead. Despite this macabre gesture, the piece is obviously pro-choice; the character, realizing the perilous state of the world she lives in, has enough agency to choose to end the lives of her own children for their and her own well-being. This story, of course, is to be taken with a grain of salt and treated as a fairy tale.
Amidst a global crackdown on pro-choice initiatives, the exhibit becomes that much more important in terms of advocating for women’s rights to their bodily autonomy everywhere across the globe. The fact that the artist and the exhibit have been silenced for daring to bring up the subject itself is a testimony to its power. This is why the exhibit is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Gender Equality and Good Health and Well-Being.
The crackdown on the exhibit can also be explained by Germany’s wave of anti-abortion protests in 2024. Despite the government’s strict crackdown on these protests, it became clear that anti-abortion views were gaining, and continue to gain, political traction both in the country and globally.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has found that despite abortion being a common health intervention that can be carried out safely, around 45 percent of abortions carried out worldwide are still unsafe. The main cause of this phenomenon is the stigma put on women who get abortions, labeling them as sinful and shameful. This is why exhibits such as “Kinder, hört mal alle her!” by Sophia Süßmilch that help women who get abortions feel seen will go a long way in terms of reducing stigma and helping them get access to safe abortions.
The forced closure of “Kinder, hört mal alle her!” by Sophia Süßmilch highlights Germany’s ongoing struggle for women’s bodily autonomy, even though the nation ranks high on the WEF global gender equality list. Through her provocative, fairy-tale-inspired pieces, Süßmilch emphasizes the importance of pro-choice advocacy and the need to address the stigmatization of women seeking abortions. Despite its controversy, the exhibition remains a key part of the global movement to attain gender equality.
Find out more about “Kinder, hört mal alle her!” by Sophia Süßmilch and their other pieces and initiatives by checking their Instagram at @sophia_suessmilch.