Do not pass this point, 1987
Beneath an ancient, gnarled tree with a green snake in its branches sit two young lovers, whose offensive appearance recalls the yearning for protest one finds in films about rebellious youths. The young man with the perfectly trained upper body is wearing tight-fitting jeans, a symbol of rebellion, its zipper fly wide open. His left leg rests between the woman’s legs. She, too, is scantily clad. The striking red coat and short black skirt leave her breasts and bare legs exposed. She leans tenderly towards the man and grasps his shoulder, but he does not look at her, reaching instead for the apple in her hand, its green contrasting brightly with the red of her coat.
But this promise of sex will by no means be kept, as the ordinary wooden sign proclaims: Do not pass this point. This modern version of love, seduction, and sex was created in 1987, when the German government launched its emergency program to combat the AIDS epidemic, bringing the explosive subject into the general consciousness of the population.
In the watercolor the colored sections stand out against the white background in a Pop Art style. Another notable feature is how the artist once again redefined the drawing tool she had used for numerous works since the 1940s. The seductive color spectrum of the pastel now also unfolds a subtly subversive power that reveals the darker sides of human emotions.