Austria pavilion in Venice “in the middle of a dystopia” • NEWS.AT
The deprivations of the now waning corona pandemic and the war that had been raging in Ukraine for weeks were the dominant themes surrounding the opening of the Austrian pavilion at the 59th Venice Art Biennale. Both the artists Jakob Lena Knebl and Ashley Hans Scheirl and the curator Karola Kraus addressed the dystopian circumstances of the present, which are strikingly reminiscent of those of the 1970s, which are being negotiated in the pavilion.
“We’re not currently dreaming of a better world,” said Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) at the press conference on Thursday in what is expected to be the Biennale’s motto “The Milk of Dreams”. In addition, it is now more important than in previous years to restore freedom of art and freedom of expression in parts of Europe. Mayer is all the more pleased that the exhibition “Invitation of the Soft Machine and Her Angry Body Parts” by Knebl and Scheirl “broadens the viewer’s horizon”. Curator Karola Kraus, who won the first tender for curating the pavilion together with the artists, was impressed by the world created in the pavilion, “where everyone can change and take a new direction”.
“To be honest, it was always my dream to curate this pavilion,” says Kraus, who was delighted to present the “explosive works” of the two artists on the Biennale’s main stage. “This open stage invites visitors to explore their world of desire. They show us the possibilities of new forms of coexistence.” In their works, Knebl and Scheirl “play humorously with the human body”. And so Ashley Hans Scheirl also thanked the State Secretary for “the opportunity to do whatever we want here”. The cultural department supported the exhibition with 535,000 euros.
“The 1970s still have a major impact on our present,” says Knebl. At that time, topics ranging from identity politics to civil rights and spiritualism flared up. “In our research, we went in search of utopias and dystopias of this time,” she explained the approach of the two. “And then we asked ourselves which of these utopias and dystopias we want to create here.” Scheirl also underlined parallels to today. “Now we’re in the middle of dystopia. And it’s about allowing these ambivalent feelings.”
The two for two use the mirrored architecture of the pavilion for separate presentations, but they also repeatedly refer to each other in their works. Scheirl plays the left main room with a walk-in proscenium and introduces the visitor deeper and deeper into the artist’s cosmos through the flat backdrops placed one behind the other in the room. For example, there is a tank covered with fluffy fur that throws pills into the room, a golden anus is emblazoned on the ceiling, and on the walls there are large-format paintings in which both artists can be found. The works are thematically orientated towards voyeurism, exhibitionism and fetishism, which extends to a specially minted gold coin with Scheirl’s likeness.
Several brightly colored 3D-printed sculptures greet visitors on the right-hand side of the pavilion designed by Knebl. Here, too, desire is in the foreground when people and things merge. But the artist is also concerned with bringing the fields of art and design back together. In the two back rooms, which are also mirrored, the two present identical but mirrored wallpapers depicting 1970s interiors of kitchens and living rooms. When asked how important it was for them to work together, the response was brief. “We are very happy not to be here without each other.”
(SERVICE – )