Oil Spill Flag (Romanian version)
The ''Oil Spill Flag'' bears witness to how states generate profits by handing out licenses to petroleum corporations for extracting fossil fuels, which at the same time causes the destruction of the local environment.
The Romanian version of ''Oil Spill Flag'' has a popular Norwegian predecessor. The Oil Spill Flag displayed on a flagpole in front of Tromsø Kunstforening in Norway in 2020 provoked furious debate. Conservative and rightwing local politicians including the county’s governor wanted the flag removed. The oil-smeared Norwegian flag was stolen twice in June 2020—one time by a respected retired Supreme Court attorney who later admitted taking down the flag. There were more than 20 stories in daily Norwegian newspapers and magazines about the Oil Spill Flag, including a front-page article. In addition, it was discussed on various blogs and radio shows.
Oliver Ressler
OLIVER RESSLER is an artist and filmmaker who produces installations, projects in public spaces, and films on economics, democracy, racism, climate breakdown, forms of resistance, and social alternatives. Ressler had comprehensive solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein; MNAC – National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest; SALT Galata, Istanbul; Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville; Museo Espacio, Aguascalientes, Mexico and Belvedere 21, Vienna. He has participated in more than 400 group exhibitions, including Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid; Centre Pompidou, Paris and the biennials in Taipei, Lyon, Gyumri, Venice, Athens, Quebec, Jeju, Kyiv, Gothenburg, Istanbul, and at Documenta 14, Kassel, 2017.