Jeremy Deller - Wir haben die Schnauze voll

Wir haben die Schnauze voll (2020) is the name of the new film by Jeremy Deller, commissioned by the Bonner Kunstverein on the occasion of BTHVN2020, the celebrations for Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday in Bonn. The film, which includes a live performance of the second and fourth movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, was made in cooperation with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and school children from the region.

Deller describes his film as a work on "fundamental Beethoven themes" such as "nature, humanity, freedom and democracy". "I remember the first time I heard an orchestra I was amazed at how great it sounded - I couldn't believe it. A single person cannot produce such a sound. Groups of people are necessary to make something so beautiful."

The exhibition also shows Putin's Happy (2019), a film that deals with the rise of British right-wing populism. This work was created in the spring of 2019 around London's Parliament Square and begins with a group of demonstrators performing the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy) in front of the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament. Interviews with a number of activists document the daily protests in the months leading up to the 2019 general election.

The exhibition is curated by Michelle Cotton, Head of Artistic Programmes and Content at Mudam, Luxembourg, and Volker Zander, musician and curator in Cologne.