These two new pictures are connected to the demolition of Ungdomshuset.

On March 1st, 2007 very early in the morning, the Danish police entered the building from the roof, using two military helicopters. In a short, effective and violent sweep, everybody in the house was evicted. Witnesses talk of massive doses of teargas and direct fights. How to visualize this event, which was already covered heavily by news-photographers? How to illustrate the threat and the violence used by the police force? I found a photo of one of the two helicopters employed, rising over the rooftops of Jagtvej; instead of describing the dramatic eviction itself, this picture focuses on the rising threat. A dark shadow rising to conquer.

On March 5th the whole house was demolished. A few days later some of the policemen, who had taken part in the eviction, were spotted on the empty ground, demonstratively pissing, marking their newly won territory. This led to reports in the news and debate about the emotional distance or lack of same within the police force. The Danish artist Claus Carstensen has worked intensely with this theme: Territorial Pissing. It was tempting to use this scene as an appropriation of his signature image; both in style and composition this picture paraphrases his work in this field.