Power of the people

What game do those in power play? And are they really in power, or does it just look that way? In Power of the people artist Fernando Sánchez Castillo turns perspectives on their head and knocks statues off balance. With humour and a sharp eye, he shows how you too can play the game – with limited resources and a lot of nerve. Maybe you have more power than you think.

Fernando Sánchez Castillo grew up in Spain, in a turbulent period marked by resistance and change. The dictatorship made way for a democracy, but not without a struggle. The events helped him develop a keen eye for structures and symbols of power – not just back then, in Spain, but also today, across the globe. In Power of the people Sánchez Castillo exposes the game that those in power play. How do they uphold their power? And how do they distract us from their games of politics, power and money?

Sánchez Castillo uses humour and playfulness to dissect power and turn it on its head. Humour is important, he says, because “it dismantles hierarchy and makes space for new ideas.” This is why he diminishes symbols of oppression to innocent dance partners, while anonymous resistance fighters are recognised with a statue with a face. In doing so, Sánchez Castillo draws parallels between the protests in Spain and those in Nijmegen. He discovers not only a universal language of resistance, but also a recurring pattern: there is always that one person in the crowd who inspires others.

Contribute to a monument of resistance

What do you think is worth fighting for? Let us know in the exhibition Power of the people. Put your thoughts, heartfelt plea, poem or drawing on a Post-it note and add it to the rest. Feel free to take home a miniature of the artwork Las madres de Plaza de Mayo in exchange. It will help spread this monument to resistance to all kinds of places beyond the Valkhof Museum.

Fernando Sánchez Castillo made this statue for the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who have been gathering to protest since 1977. They are demanding justice for their children, who were abducted during the dictatorship of the Argentine General Videla.