Impossible Reload 2023
Installation, sculpture
Paper, Thread, Plastic

I personally had to go through an experience that affects a lot of people in Germany. After moving to Bremen, I spent months trying to make an appointment at the citizens’ office to re-register in time. It is only possible to make an appointment using the online form. The law stipulates that the re-registration should take place within two weeks of the move. This deadline comes across as a bad joke when you are shown the suggested dates, which are usually months later. Provided you are shown appointments. They often say that all the dates are taken and that you should try again at a later date. As a result, I asked around in my circle of friends and got the suggestion to regularly “reload” the website at around nine in the morning. So I spent several mornings clicking on the little reload arrow and hoping that another appointment would become available.

We need to question our thinking and actions, especially when it comes to bureaucracy, and throw outdated dogmas overboard in order to simplify and improve bureaucracy in Germany. It is time to rethink the rigid rules and ensure that they actually serve the purpose for which they were created. This is the only way we can guarantee an efficient and citizen-oriented administration.