Didn’t they say that wolves always return to the forest? Here we meet the Wolf Statue. It’s not just a sculpture but a powerful statement about society and the rise of extremism.
This striking artwork is by German artist Rainer Opolka. He created it in response to the growing presence of Pegida in Dresden. Pegida is a far-right political movement.
The Wolf Statue exhibition first appeared in front of the Dresden Frauenkirche in Neumarkt square on March 16, 2016. It stayed there for a week until March 23, 2016. The exhibition featured 66 metal wolf sculptures placed around the square. The wolves looked somewhat human. The wolf statues surrounded a central figure.
The central figure was a golden wolf giving the Nazi salute. Many thought this golden wolf represented Pegida’s leader at the time, Lutz Bachmann. Opolka’s work wasn’t just art. It was a bold commentary on the political climate.
Before becoming an artist, Opolka was an entrepreneur. He made a fortune developing power-saving technologies. He and his twin brother Harold created Ledlenser. They developed the Ledlenser V8 flashlight. Rainer and Harold sold over 200 million Euros worth of LED flashlights in their first five years. They later sold most of their shares to focus on art.
The Wolf Statue exhibition included eight different wolf designs. Each design represented a different group contributing to racism in Germany. Some wolves were blindfolded called blind soldiers and blind haters. They represented mob mentality. Another wolf wielded a gun. This one represented xenophobic murders by the neo-Nazi group NSU. The NSU murders claimed the lives of eight Turkish immigrants, one Greek person, and one German police officer.
The exhibit was created in early spring 2016. This was after the Refugee Crisis of 2015. Germany temporarily opened its borders and accepted over one million refugees. Crimes against minorities and asylum seekers increased. Opolka was inspired by this rise in crime. He chose wolves to symbolize social and political tension.
Opolka stated that the wolf has been a symbol for inner social conflicts since Thomas Hobbes. He wanted to show those conflicts using the wolf as a metaphor. After its time in Dresden, “The Wolves Are Back?” became a traveling exhibition. It appeared in Potsdam, Berlin, and other German cities.
Opolka considers “The Wolves Are Back?” a success. It sparked public discussions about racism. The exhibition’s website states that 80,000 visitors came. The wolves were photographed around 200,000 times. The team held thousands of discussions. Most importantly, it provoked tens of thousands of discussions.
The artist says that the 66 metal statues of wolves serve as a symbol for hate, arsons, neo-Nazis, angry Pegida followers, and members of the AfD who want to shoot refugees. Measuring nearly two meters each, the statues were installed on Dresden’s central Neumarkt square.
When asked if he was concerned that the statues could be vandalized, Opolka replied that perhaps they can be damaged but the idea cannot be damaged. It’s a powerful reminder of the need for vigilance against hatred and violence. The Wolf Statue stands as a symbol of resistance.