Keep breathing slowly | Flat 1
=The shock of the pandemic lockdowns is still so deep-seated in society that for many it appears quite impossible to return to the comparatively untroubled pre-Corona lifestyle. And even now, the first signs are already suggesting that an end to the pandemic measures may still not mean the freedom that many have been missing. After all, routines, boundaries and freedom are in many cases not caused by government measures, but are rooted within people themselves and are therefore timeless.
Thus, the positions of the Austrian artists can be interpreted as an attempt to indicate continued inner boundaries that will keep having an effect further into the future, as a limit to our possibilities, such as the sprayed tea towels by Hannes Glaser, which enhance an everyday object into an art object, or the ghostly, and at the same time timeless, strolls by Christiane Spatt in an art nouveau villa at the Starenbergsee. Karin Maria Pfeifer's drawing of a bedspread, dissolved into thousands of pixels, or Lola Pfeifer's video of an endless carousel-like toothbrushing sequence on a rotating office chair also address how quarantine routines might continue after the end of the lockdowns. Performer Johanna Tatzgern explores empty space. Her video work emerged from an exploration of her own body, a rehearsal space, and the existing conditions. Sula Zimmerberger's abandoned hotel rooms, on the other hand, show the inner emptiness that does not go away even when the doors or windows are opened. While Ewa Kaja's photographs capture just the hint of beauty before decay sets in.
The differentiation between external boundaries and internal limitations is therefore the conceptual focus of the exhibition. The complex relationship between these two concepts is shown in various aspects by the artists and is intended to address the possibilities for a future that is close to us.
Artists: Lola Pfeifer, Johanna Tatzgern, Hannes Glaser, Ewa Kaja, Sula Zimmerberger, karin maria pfeifer, Christiane Spatt.
Curated by: Flat 1
The exhibition “Keep breathing slowly” curated by Flat1, is presented in context to Back to Athens 8 International Arts Festival.
The event considers all public health protection measures, in the context of avoiding the spread of coronavirus (CoV-19).
Photos from archive ⒸCHEAPART and ⒸFLAT1
Back to Athens 8 | 2021 is organized by APART Art Research and Applications, under the Auspices of the City of Athens, with the support of the Austrian Embassy in Athens and the Ministry of Culture of Austria, Zoia, Athens Intersection Cultural Program, CHEAPART and the Offspring Young Artists Program.
Back to Athens 8 International Arts Festival 2021
Profiles of the Future: An inquiry into the limits of the possible
Isaiah Mansion
65 Patission & Ioulianou, Athens, 104 33
"Keep breathing slowly", 2nd floor
Opening day: Thursday, July 1, 16:00 - 22:00
Duration: July 1 – 4, 2021
Visiting hours: Thursday 1.7, Friday 2.7, 16:00 – 22:00, Saturday 3.7, Sunday 4.7, 12:00 – 22:00
