Hiroshima-Ufer (Karlsaue)

August 6, 2022, marks the 77th year since the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A memorial for this day has traditionally been held on Fulda-Ufer, where Claes Oldenburg’s 1982 steel sculpture Spitzhacke (Pickaxe) stands. Several years ago, this section of the riverbank was renamed Hiroshima-Ufer.

During documenta fifteen, the citizenship, a boat built from a dismantled roof truss by ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics in Berlin, Germany, was supposed to dock here, having been brought from Berlin to Kassel using muscle power and renewable energy.

The citizenship has been on the water for 44 days, covering more than 400 kilometers and stopping at over 30 stations until the river Weser presented several challenges for the roof-boat, which is equipped with very limited energy resources. The strong counter-current and shallows slowed the citizenship’s journey to just a few kilometers per day. In addition, the extreme drought caused the water level of the Weser to drop drastically, which led to an official prohibition of further navigation until the conditions allow it again. For the time being, the citizenship is in the Doktorsee near Rinteln and waits for a journey to new shores in 2023.