KATHARINA GROSSE
DESTROY ME ONCE, DESTROY ME TWICE
ROSKILDE FESTIVAL, ROSKILDE, DENMARK25 JUNE 2022 – JUNE 2025
Katharina Grosse’s DESTROY ME ONCE, DESTROY ME TWICE was unveiled at the Roskilde Festival. The work is a stage of painted wooden panels within the capacious confines of the campgrounds at the Roskilde Festival. This outdoor stage, removed from the more imposing height of the official performance venues, weds both painting and the idea of a space for music and self-expression to the literal ground of the outdoor event. The panels themselves represent a large-scale translation of Grosse’s recent wall-hanging works on wood and are intended to support dancing, improvisational music, and other forms of collective engagement, all of which become possible on top of the stunning paintings underneath.
With the title of the artwork, DESTROY ME ONCE, DESTROY ME TWICE, Katharina Grosse reaches back to an ancient, haunting story from Greek mythology: one of the earliest examples of the misuse of power that points to the importance of having a voice in fighting against it. Lusted after by the god Apollo, Cassandra rejects his advances, and the deity, angered by her refusal, afflicts her with the curse of incredulity: She is still able to predict future events, but no one believes her. In “Agamemnon”, part I of Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Cassandra cries out: “Apollo, Apollo, my destroyer – you destroy me once, destroy me twice” (Verse 1080). This passage serves as the inspiration for Grosse’s title, but it is also a powerful reminder of the urgent need to unite against inequality, to create a voice, to instigate change, and to stand together in solidarity, the theme of this year’s Roskilde Festival. 
DESTROY ME ONCE, DESTROY ME TWICE presents an interactive field, untamed by any frame, flowing freely and connecting to the larger community, where festival visitors can participate by dancing not only to the festival beats but also by bringing and creating their music. Planned workshops and other collateral programming ensure that the work will remain an ever-changing image, fostering a sense of community and togetherness.
Since 1972, the Roskilde Festival, the largest of its kind in Northern Europe, has been a melting pot that merges music and art. Grosse’s contribution to the festival’s 50th anniversary, a celebration that had to be postponed due to the worldwide pandemic, is one of her most comprehensive works to date. 
DESTROY ME ONCE, DESTROY ME TWICE was curated by Creator Projects and realised in collaboration with Roskilde Festival.© Images Joakim Zueger
© Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2022
