Santiago Sierra's Swastika and Rat Installation at Prometeogallery Milan

Santiago Sierra (Madrid, 1966) presents "L'abbeveratoio" (The Watering Trough) at Prometeogallery in Milan, a reworking of a project first shown at the Festival Drodesera. The installation features a right-facing swastika (also placed by the artist at the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke, Rajasthan) set at a 45-degree angle on a black-and-white tiled floor, enclosed by four medium-height walls that create a space for rats. Sierra explains that his references to religion are not about spirituality but about an ancient and cruel system of social domination. He notes that in India the rats drank cow's milk, while at Centrale Fies the production team chose soy milk, claiming the rats would feel better, though Sierra felt they looked hungry. The right-facing swastika is associated with life, the left-facing with death, but mirroring one transforms it into its opposite. The work invites viewers to move beyond clichés and simplifications. The exhibition runs until November 12, 2016, at Prometeogallery, Via Ventura 3, Milan.