The atmosphere in Vienna makes me return there each and every year. If I only spoke better German, I would definitely rent an apartment in the city center and work for some of the inspiring institutions at the MuseumsQuartier. This year, I went to Vienna just before Christmas and one of my plans was to see the current exhibition at Kunsthalle Vienna called Political Populism.
The name “Political Populism” makes one expect quite a lot since it is a commonly discussed issue. The director of Kunsthalle, Nicolaus Schafhausen, in this exhibition opens a discourse of how politics shape our lives as well as the discourse of the relationship between digital communication and populist political rhetoric. Moreover, he is interested in tracing our futures in the light of contemporary and historical events. This exhibition thus stands for an indirect reflection on the current situation in the world. (Kryger)
The exhibit represents Schafhausen´s curatorial credo and his belief that exhibitions are “a point of departure for starting a discourse”. (Stern) Walking around this exhibition and seeing Johanna Kandl´s paintings makes one think about the historical issues. Lawrence Abu Hamdan´s video installation “Contra Diction (Speech Against Itself)” through its combination of sound, text and the visual represents a tension in speech, namely the tension between truth and deception, which on the other hand reflects rather current issues. In addition, “Motion Capture Studio”, a black space with an illuminated grid of neon lights, places us into a computer game´s virtual reality which triggers our thoughts about the relationship between what is virtual and what is real.
This exhibition is overall very impressive, the choice of artworks makes up for a critical discourse about the current state of the world. The artworks are both a comentary and a reflective on the contemporary populist forces. And the entry is free, so it is very accessible, contrary to other art institutions. Go and see it, if you have the opportunity.
7/11/2015- 7/2/2016
Kryger, Mathias. ‘A Specter Of Populism’. Kunstkritikk. N.p., 2015.
Stern, Ewa. RUNNING TESTS Interview With Nicolaus Schafhausen. 2015.
http://www.kunsthallewien.at/#/de/ausstellungen/politischer-populismus
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