Martin Creed

DON'T WORRY Photo: Kunst-Station Sankt Peter

Kunst-Station Sankt Peter Köln, Jabachstr. 1, 50676 Cologne

DON'T WORRY
white fluorescent tube

The work DON'T WORRY (Work No 252) on the Romanesque bell tower of Sankt Peter's is placed above the sound openings in such a way that it can broadcast its message far into the city. Those who look up must form their personal understanding out of this confusion of simple English, traditional Lutheran Bible German, unfamiliar Latin and foreign Greek, which is incomprehensible to some, because it is never visible in its entirety, and may come across the good news of the Sermon on the Mount. On behalf of the Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, she proclaims both: the unthinking of what is said and the liberating of what is thought.

Those familiar with the Bible may easily recognize the German text as a quotation from the Gospel of Matthew, but the English title suddenly seduces to complete the hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy", published by Bobby McFerrin in 1988. But Martin Creed would not be an artist if he did not transform the gustatory and one-sided with his own desire for ambiguity. He consciously confronts trendy wellness or happiness with the seriousness of the gospel, not because he is particularly fond of it, but because it is basically dictated to him by his location at the time-honoured church tower.

Martin Creed
born 1968 in Wakefield [gb]
lives and works in London [gb]

exhibitions (selected)

martincreed.com