Jens Galschiøt is difficult to define. He is a tradesman, a social scientist, an activist, and, I think above all, an artist. These skills, talents, and passions culminate in his need and desire to create both physical pieces and social dialogue that is both personal and political. Min Indre Svinehund, which translates to my inner pig dog, stood out to me as a magnum opus of sorts, a work that much of his other work refers back to. First completed in 1993, this piece examines the darkness within, the inherent capacity of humans to decide to do the wrong thing, and the reality that this darkness is a part of being human.

This work resonated with me on a personal level, and resolved some lingering questions about advocacy and activism, the guilt I feel when I acknowledge how I benefit from a status quo which I know harms other people, and the difficult work of resisting binaries as I examine how these realities function within myself. This week’s teeter totter between Dr. Karen Sivertsen’s advocacy and Jens Galschiøt’s activism at first seemed like its own binary, and I was initially inclined to resist this. Analyzing these two approaches this week has made me think that it doesn’t have to be one or the other and that, in fact, the two depend on one another for honesty and meaning.

Fostering a deeper understanding of how advocacy and activism work together for social impact is meaningful knowledge for my professional life and my work in analyzing public services to identify equity gaps. As this study abroad program winds down, I am considering not only the course topics of Colonialism, Culture, and Public Art Activism, but also how the concepts we are experiencing and discussing might be relevant to the public sphere, specifically government. To me, the balance of advocacy and activism is something I will carry with me in my future personal, academic, and work experiences.

Today, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from someone who has dedicated his life to a similar aim, manifested in a much different form. Sitting with Jens felt like sitting with a kindred spirit, and I left very much an admirer of him as a person, and his soul searching body of work.