Wilhelm Sasnal
Untitled (Humanitäre Hilfe), 2011
Oil on canvas
200 x 220 cm
Wilhelm Sasnal paints from images found in newspapers, current affairs magazines, on billboards or the internet. He selects from the sprawling mass of images in circulation and fixes these snapshots of society in oil paint, creating a personal archive of the complexities of contemporary life. His subject matters are broad, ranging from human displacement and the migrant crisis, space travel and the solar system to images from Steven Spielberg films.
This vast canvas shows a humanitarian aid transport. A large Latin cross is emblazoned on the side of the clean white lorry, indicating that this relief has been sent by a Christian group or charity. The address below locates the origins of the aid to be Solms, a small town north of Frankfurt, but where the lorry is destined for remains a guessing game.