BUTTERBUTTER PROJEKT - Alles in Butter
Collection of art works against Asian racism in corona time
‘Butterbutter project - Alles in Butter' was started to record Anti-Asian Racism in the context of the corona crisis in German society. Such a asian Racism had existed long before the outbreak, but it became vividly manifested during the COVID-19. The German press have reported hate speech against Asians in the country, but it is sceptical whether the German society considers such hate speech as a problem. During the recent anti asian racism in Berlin subway, one police officer stated that it is not racism to address Asians as 'corona' without inflicting any physical violence. Such a statement reflected a low degree of awareness on human rights in the German society. Hate speech seems to be an expression of personal preference, but it is actually a public violence and political evil whose negative influence reaches to all parts of society. It often goes beyond the boundary of our individual lives.
Although it has an obligation to report an issue with fairness and diversity, the German press described the coronavirus as 'made in China' and replaced the Chinese national flag with a picture of coronavirus. Such a press coverage contributed to a rise of anti-Asian sentiment in Germany. These kinds of hate speech only created fear, racial conflict and discrimination. It is positive that an anti-discrimination law was recently passed in Berlin, creating a safeguard against hate speech. Still, we shall see whether the law will work in reality. Hate speech violates rights of others and tarnishes the common value and ideology of humankind, which is a serious provocation against the fabric of our society. Therefore, we do our archiving project to record and stand against such hatred.
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A project by Lijung, Gwiyeon Han, Kyuwon Moon, Yeosong Kim, Dahye Jeong
Edited by Dahye Jeong
Online since 15.05.2020
With support by BUMS, Interflugs, Kunst im Kontext an der UDK.
Thanks to all the contributing artists
