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2015 » Austria » Section of Countries and Regions
| Curator: | Vero Schürr |
| Designer / Architect of exhibition: | Vero Schürr |
| Institution: | www.vsdesignlab.com |
Transient Spaces - What is Home?
The multi-sensory installation uses narrative design to interpret intangible psychological and theoretical aspects of ‘home’, translating them into a spatial experience. A serendipitous journey through other people’s sense of belonging invites visitors to re-think their own sense of home. What is ‘home’ in a globalised world?
Austria, like every country, is defined by its weather, politics and music. How does all of this influence people’s sense of belonging? Does Austria enrich an artist’s sense of home?
The installation turns conventional concepts of showing art upside down. It is not the artists’ work that is the main focus but their sense of belonging, which constitutes the entrance point to their world and influences their way of working. ‘Home’ – here interpreted as ‘a crucial point of reference from which one’s self and world is comprehended.’ (Fry, Tony. Homelessness: A Philosophical Architecture. Design philosophy papers, 2005) – is seen as a precondition for the creation of art, which for its part is seen as a precondition for the artist’s sense of belonging.
The exhibition explores whether ‘home’ can be redefined and whether it can coexist with transience, which seems to be necessary in a today’s globalised world where people of all classes are required or motivated to lead nomadic lives. To a certain extent, this lifestyle means a return to a time when feeling at home was defined by a sense of being part of the world and not by possessions. Human ‘settlement marked a fundamental shift from our being world dwellers, who owned nothing and everything, to our becoming dwellers in a place to which the claim of belonging was made. In a real sense, belonging made the accumulation of belongings possible.’ (Fry) The concept of ‘home’ has thus become a driving force for ‘a constantly growing volume of unsustainable consumption, regarding the world as a standing reserve.’ (Fry) ‘Home’ – and therefore also homelessness – needs to be redefined, and consequently our understanding of patriotism or nationalism as well.
Supported by www.vsdesignlab.com and Austrian Cultural Forum Prague. Please see www.pqaustria.org and www.whatishome.net for further details and for a final list of collaborators and artists.