Wolfgang Tillmans voices his concerns (via Instagram) about the state of Germany

The German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans is turning into a passionate political activist, with Instagram his digital soapbox of choice. In a lengthy post (21 January), the artist opined about the tense political situation in Germany. “Hoping German social democratic party convention [SPD] today/tomorrow votes for a continuation of a coalition government with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats [CDU],” he writes. “It’s been so painful the last few weeks to read commentary in German press talking down the legacy of German politics of the last ten years. People are mindlessly spiteful of a politics that tried to reconcile the challenges of globalisation and the European crisis with national interests.” What follows is a very detailed analysis focusing on the joint percentage of the vote gained by the SPD and CDU. “The far right AFD, the other alternative, with whom the CDU could form a government, is fortunately considered too toxic by everyone,” Tillmans adds. He can breathe a sigh of relief (for now) as the SPD agreed today to start formal coalition talks with Merkel’s conservatives. This is not the artist’s first foray into politics. A passionate advocate of the UK remaining in the European Union, the London- and Berlin-based photographer created a series of anti-Brexit posters extolling the benefits of the EU before the UK referendum in June 2016.