4. HALBZEIT
Shown on a double LED wall, 4. Halbzeit by German artist duo Wermke / Leinkauf (2007–2017) features imagery of organised football fans, known as Ultras, in the context of socio-political uprisings. The work traces how the inflammatory imagery of Ultras coincides with protest culture in the twenty-first century. It reveals links between the football aesthetics of flags, smoke bombs, colourful shirts, chants, drumming and mobilisation dynamics, and forms of political action and mass resistance.
The duo’s research brings together numerous online images of football hooligans participating in political demonstrations and riots worldwide, including the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, the Arab Spring and the Maidan Uprising in Kyiv. By combining found footage with their own material, Wermke / Leinkauf deftly illustrate how these worlds converge in both imagery and intensity. 4. Halbzeit demonstrates not only the power of crowds but also the impact of mass actions and objects that shape collective meaning. The LED walls reference the advertising screens that maximise both visibility and reach in football stadiums and public space.