It was one of those days when we decided not to comment on reality— but to mirror it..

White painter’s coveralls.
Armbands.
Masks.

Our “Corona Police” outfit.

A a separately published video statement documents the action additionally from a visual perspective and complements the text with specific scenes from the performance.

We moved through the station in formation. Militaristic, but with a wink. No real control, no authority, no power—just an exaggerated copy of what had long since become everyday reality at the time.

Our plan was simple:
We positioned ourselves where people streamed past in crowds and checked the “proper” wearing of face masks. Exactly as it was practiced everywhere. Just deliberately overdone. Parodistic. Without violence, without coercion—only with tone of voice, posture, and simulated authority.

The famous “nose trick” was enough.
Mask halfway down the face—and we went into action.

A stern look.
A raised finger.
“Please wear your mask properly.”

Some laughed immediately.
Others were irritated.
Some seemed genuinely unsettled.

And yes—we also threatened fines. Not seriously. Not for real. But in exactly the tone everyone knew. And that’s where it became interesting: many people didn’t ask for ID. They didn’t question the situation. They complied.

Of course, at some point the real police showed up.

They positioned themselves about twenty meters away, observed us—and you could tell they quickly understood: this is not an illegal check. This is an art action. A performance. A reflection.

They kept their distance.
And acted as if they had nothing to do with us.

Dann kam der Moment, der alles übertraf.

A young woman approached us.
Visibly pregnant.

She pointed at her belly and stated very firmly that she had a medical certificate and did not have to wear a mask. We therefore could not threaten her with a fine.

I stayed completely in character. No grin. No wink.
And said only:
“Then you’ll have to show that to our colleagues back there, please.”

I pointed at the real police officers.

And the woman—fully convinced that they were our backup—actually went over. Purposeful. Confident. Straight toward the real officers.

We stood there and had to pull ourselves together not to burst out laughing.

What happened there was pure theater:
The woman explained to the police officers that “her colleagues up front” had sent her to prove that she was pregnant and didn’t have to wear a mask.

The police reaction was priceless.
You could see them rolling their eyes internally.
They just waved her off and said, in essence:
“Move along, please. The people up front have nothing to do with us.”

That was the perfect point.

The real state authority clearly distanced itself from us.
The citizen was absolutely convinced that we were official.
And exactly in that tension lay the core of the action.

It was never about exposing people. It was about showing how easily authority is accepted when rules become absurd. How quickly satire turns into reality when control is normalized. And how strongly people cling to directives, even when they are obviously exaggerated.

That a pregnant woman of all people got caught in the middle of this game turned the scene into an unintentional piece of theater—better than any staging could have planned.

In the end, it was one of those actions that says more than any speech.
About obsession with control.
About insecurity.
About grotesque everyday moments that were completely normal at the time.

And perhaps also about how important it is, in the right moment, to ask: Is this still order—or already obedience theater?

📚 Further Reading – Partner Links

(Affiliate notice: The following links are partner links. If you make a purchase through them, you support Marlas Army at no additional cost to you.)

1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence
1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence An analysis of the mechanisms of political control and public fear.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NDc0c8

2. George Orwell – 1984
The classic work on language control, truth, and surveillance.
👉 https://amzn.to/4bsO0SZ

3. Timothy Snyder – On Tyranny
Twenty lessons on how democracies die.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NcdiuI