In 2005 Daniel Knorr represented Rumania at the Venice Biennial and, as an “anti-concept”, left the pavilion empty. All that could be seen were the traces left behind by the pavilion’s past usage and by time. As this project with the title European Influenza 2002-2005 took place the same year Rumania signed the contract to join the European Union and two years before its actual accession, the artist used it to draw attention to the conflicts provoked by this politically and historically significant event. The exhibition was accompanied by a reader published by Marius Babias with essays by authors including Boris Buden, Bojana Pejic, Piotr Piotrowski and Dan Perjovschi, which was distributed to visitors free of charge.
At the 2008 Berlin Biennial, Knorr questioned German history and the notion of national identity in his work Nationalgalerie, which featured all of the flags of the 58 Berlin-based student fraternities – notorious for their right-wing position – as a “flag frieze” fluttering from the roof of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
Knorr’s contribution to Manifesta 7 in South Tyrol (2008) consisted of removing all the doors of one of the exhibition venues in Rovereto, so that the artworks on view there were freely accessible 24 hours a day. The reactions to this project were documented and discussed in supplements to the local daily paper as well as in cooperation with a Rumanian periodical.
As a participant of the Quadriennale U-TURN in Copenhagen, Knorr caused quite a stir in autumn 2008 with Stolen History – an intervention in public space – by hiding the heads of the city’s public sculptures and monuments under black masks.