Papier-mâché artist Jacques Tilly's carnival floats are as politically charged as he himself. His latest Putin-faced float has risen as a symbol of protest and peace in times of war.
A caricature of Putin choking as he tries to swallow UkraineImage: André Duldhardt
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"My job is to take a very complex political situation and turn it into a very simple image," says Jacques Tilly, a German papier-mâché artist from Düsseldorf. Tilly is currently in the headlines for his latest carnival float featuring a red-faced Vladimir Putin, eyes bulging as he attempts to swallow a blue-and-yellow object in the shape of Ukraine and emblazoned with the words "Choke on it!"
In February 2022, following the invasion Ukraine, carnival events in German cities like Cologne and Düsseldorf turned into spaces for protest and political articulation. Düsseldorf authorities completely canceled carnival parades. Still, Tilly's sculpture toured Düsseldorf in February and now the city is auctioning the float, which has also appeared in protest demonstrations in Berlin.
The highest bidder will get to use the float from time to time and the money received from the auction will be donated to the war-torn city of Chernivtsi, Düsseldorf's partner city in Ukraine.
Previously, a signed sketch of the float was also auctioned by the charitable organisation Diakonie in March 2022. The proceeds helped newly-arrived Ukrainian refugees settle in the Düsseldorf region.
Tilly's 2009 vision of press freedom in Putin's RussiaImage: Jacques Tilly
Why Putin?
A long time critic of Putin, Jacques Tilly defines himself as a humanist, and therefore sides with the victims of Putin’s regime. In his creative journey spanning more than three decades, Tilly has built nine carnival floats featuring the Russian President. In 2009, he built one that portrayed Putin attacking press freedom in the country.
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In an interview with DW, Tilly says that Putin, for him, has always been a "political gangster." He says, "From the beginning, I was convinced that Putin is the mafia boss of a clique that exploits the state and has established a totalitarian dictatorship. He has always supported the right-wing radicals in Europe in the past. So, he is an opponent of Europe, of pluralism. He opposes a free, open society, and therefore he is my natural opponent."
Artist and humanist Jacques Tilly sees Putin as a 'political gangster' who opposes a free and open society Image: DW / Moll
A carnival too political?
The carnival season in Düsseldorf has been Tilly's preferred moment to express his political stances for years. The carnival floats, too, have morphed into satirical expressions of political opinion. But for some critics, this politicization of carnival could potentially take away from its festive spirit, which itself is often accused of being "too primitive."
Tilly perceives carnival as a diverse and multifaceted event and therefore doesn't see a reason that his politics shouldn't have a place there. He says, "There are historical roots to why carnival came into being. And the reason is that people, especially in repressive, authoritarian societies, don't want to be told how to live, at least on one day every year. Carnival has the task of once a year upholding the freedom to speak truth to power with impunity. And that is the rebellious, anarchic element of carnival."
'Politics and provocation': Jacques Tilly's caricatures
Whether it's in the form of a Brexit monster or a petulant baby Donald Trump, German caricaturist Jacques Tilly embraces political satire. His world-famous 3D carnival figures are on show for the first time.
Image: DW/G. Reucher
The Brexit Monster
"Politics and Provocation" is the title of the exhibition showing XXL caricatures by satirist Jacques Tilly, who mainly designs huge, 3D figures for Dusseldorf's annual Carnival parade. Some of them are on display at the Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen art collection in northwest Germany (February 2 — June 14). Brexit is a major — and timely — focus.
Image: DW/G. Reucher
Grow up, Donald Trump!
Trump is another rewarding topic for Tilly. Above, the US president is portrayed as a baby in overflowing diapers, tearing up the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Environmental activists displayed the 7-meter tall object in front of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg during the G20 summit in July 2017, which Trump attended. One month earlier he had said the US would leave the deal.
Image: Greenpeace/Maria Feck
Fridays for Future
Tilly supports Swedish environmental and climate protection activist Greta Thunberg's ideas and goals. His 2019 drawing shows her angrily pulling the ears of the parents' generation ("Eltern-Generation") and demanding, "Do something about the climate disaster already!" The float built with Greta's image for the 2019 Dusseldorf Carnival parade is still used by the Fridays for Future movement.
Image: Jacques Tilly
Merkel and the refugee wave
This Tilly float dates from 2016. Angela Merkel sits in a boat and is turned upside down by a wave bearing the words "Refugee wave." She may be upside down, but she remains undaunted, her fingertips touching each other in a kind of rhombus, a gesture she typically makes.
Image: DW/G. Reucher
Master of 3D caricature
Tilly and his team build the larger-than-life figures in a large hall in Dusseldorf. A framework of wooden poles is covered with wire mesh, coated in paper-mache and later painted. Tilly's figures stand out because of their strong facial features, which have a high recognition value. The gigantic caricatures are quite self-explanatory.
Image: Laura Thorenz
Distinctive features
Politicians' heads are a Tilly trademark: Be it Merkel or Trump, they are immediately recognizable. A cherubic Trump figure was on a 2019 float behind Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wielded a bloody chainsaw while "guardian angel" Trump held his hands protectively over him. Only the Trump figure is shown in the exhibition (above with another Merkel figure).
Image: DW/G. Reucher
Freedom of opinion and democracy
This 2017 drawing shows caterpillars symbolizing five right-wing conservative political leaders (Poland's Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the US' Trump, Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban) who gnaw away at a leaf democracy. In Poland, a float based on the drawing accompanies campaigns of government critics for democracy and the constitution.
Image: Jacques Tilly
Blond is the new brown
Time and again, Tilly points his finger at global right-wing populists. He sees values such as the rule of law and pluralism as threatened by a "new wave of authoritarian thinking." Tilly has raised the issue repeatedly in designs for his carnival floats, like the above one, "Blond is the New Brown," in 2017. In Germany, the color brown has historically represented the political far right.
Image: Hojabr Riahi
You can't kill satire
The world was shocked after the attacks on journalists at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January 2015. Many German carnival parade groups refrained from satirizing the topic because of the danger involved. Tilly, however, felt a "sense of proportion" was called for and designed a float for the Dusseldorf parade just a few weeks later that stated, "Satire cannot be killed."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gambarini
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The function of art
Jacques Tilly's art addresses major political moments and doesn't shy away from taking a stand. Be it Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, the refugee crisis of 2015, or floods in the Ahr valley last year – Tilly's creations have stood out because of their confident political positions, and they have grabbed global attention.
In 2019 alone, around 1,500 images of Tilly's carnival floats were reproduced in some 100 countries. Pictures of the recent Putin float are available in Russian, Ukrainian, German and English versions on Tilly's Grossplastiken website, to be used by anyone, without any permission requirements.
Discussing what the task of art is to him today, Tilly tells DW, "I draw attention to grievances, point out undesirable developments and scandals. I do in the field of humor what journalists do in theirs."
Cologne Carnival festivities morph into anti-war rally
Thousand of revellers in Cologne swapped traditional Carnival festivities for an anti-war rally to send a message against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Image: Ina Fasssbender/AFP/Getty Images
A somewhat different carnival parade
Carnival is hugely popular in parts of western Germany, especially in Rhineland cities such as Cologne. But this year the city's traditional "Rosenmontag" Carnival parade had been called off due to the COVID pandemic. The war in Ukraine, however, brought 250,000 people for the solidarity parade.
Image: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/picture alliance
Anti-war float
One of the traditional carnival floats was refashioned to show Russian President Vladimir Putin lampooning a dove. The float drove at the top of the solidarity parade in Cologne.
Image: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/picture alliance
Taking a stand
Hendrik Wüst, premier of Germany's most populous state of North-Rhine Westphalia was part of the crowd as was Cologne mayor Henriette Reker and several famous local singers.
Image: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/picture alliance
Stop Putin: 'Make FasteLOVEnd not war'
The protesters had one central slogan: "Make FasteLOVEnd not war" – a play of words on the German word for carnival: Fastnacht (or Fastelovend in the Cologne dialect). All other official carnival activities had been canceled and only private celebrations were good to go ahead.
Image: Oliver Berg/dpa/picture alliance
'Carnival is always a bit political'
Daniel and Ralph are members of the traditional Carnival club, Rote Funken. "Carnival should also take place in difficult times," they said. "After all, Carnival has always been somewhat political."
Image: Jeannette Cwienk/DW
An anti-war protest
Gunther travelled all the way from Hamburg. He'd taken time off work to come and party. But he and his friends felt it was a good idea to let the Monday parade go ahead as an anti-war demonstration.
Image: Jeannette Cwienk/DW
Low-key partying
Kerstin and Anna came with a group of 12 people. "This year, we'll be partying low-key," they say. It was very depressing to wake up to a war in Ukraine on Thursday, they add. But they also wanted to express some positive vibes and "recharge their batteries" after the many months of COVID restrictions.
Image: Jeannette Cwienk/DW
'It's Putin's war, not Russia's'
Jenny and Nadine decided against partying. "It just doesn't fit the times," says Jenny. She has come to take a clear stand against the war. They both feel encouraged that so many people have come out, also in other cities around the globe. Now, it is time to stand together, they say. And both stress that "this is Putin's war, not Russia's."
