The museum director Dr. Jutta Götzmann writes in the catalog “FRIEDRICH UND POTSDAM”:
“Potsdam artist Julia Theek chooses the airbrush technique as a means of expression of street art to find a contemporary translation for themes in Prussian art and cultural history. With her work “provocative,” she recalls the British bombing raid of April 14, 1945, which severely damaged the City Palace and the adjacent Frederician buildings of the Old Market Square. In her work, Theek deliberately links different time levels with each other: thus, the demolition of the theater wing, which, like the entire demolition of the palace, is due to the decision of the then head of state and party Walter Ulbricht in 1959, is overlaid by the reconstruction of the Fortuna Portal, which sparked the discussion about the historic reconstruction in 2001.
In her depiction of the City Palace, Julia Theek drew on pictures of ruins taken by her grandfather Paul August. As a second source, she added measured pictures of the Old Market Square for verification. Julia Theek paid special attention to Minerva, the former gable figure of the City Palace, which was also a favorite symbol of Friderich II. She is not only the goddess of wisdom and the fine arts, but also of the tactical art of war, which Theek impressively illustrates with the clock ticking at the bottom of the picture. She uses this as a reference to the V2, which was used in air raids during World War II.”
Dr. Jutta Götzmann
