Curator: Sergio Edelsztein

Santiago Sierra has been photographing rows of teeth since 2008: those of Sinti and Roma in Naples, migrants in Tijuana, refugees from the Middle East, and many more. Teeth serve as a multifaceted testimony to a person’s individuality and identity, much like fingerprints. They can reveal details about a person’s social background or financial status, reflect various beauty ideals, and are often the most reliable means of identifying human remains when the body is no longer intact.

The pictures of teeth are emblematic of Sierra’s focus on the “re-humanization” of groups dehumanized by the economy, migration, and prejudice. The act of “showing one’s teeth” touches on our most instinct-driven behaviors, representing a visceral act of threat and defense, as the universally understood phrase suggests. Sierra’s project for the n.b.k. facade, titled Der Zeitgeist, reflects a moment of fear and threat, attack and defense, showing strength and concealing fragility. Der Zeitgeist laments the return to a primitive, pre-linguistic stance that equally affects the social behavior of individuals, groups, and state actors.