Dierk Schmidt: Galerie Ursula Walbrol.(Dusseldorf)(exhibition Hostages shows artist's concern with possibilities of historical painting in the present day)

Dierk Schmidt is concerned with the possibilities of historical painting in the present day. In his recent exhibition "Hostages," he established a network of historical associations with a recent occurrence: On October 19, 2001, a boat carrying 397 asylum seekers sank off the coast of Australia.

The actual circumstances of the sinking were never fully clarified, but given Australia's draconian refugee policies, people do seem to have become, as Schmidt has put it, "hostages between political and bureaucratic systems." He draws a parallel between this event and a ...

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