15


Awake with a stranger´s shoes on


06.06.–11.07.2024

Dasha Ilina, Ulrich Formann





Photos by Tina Kult

The exhibition Awake with a stranger´s shoes on invites us to confront and navigate through the intricate web of technology and humans with selected works by techno-critical artists Dasha Ilina and Ulrich Formann based in Paris and Vienna. In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, technology has outpaced our understanding, thrusting us into a world of vast, seemingly unknowable systems.

In his work Formann uses different kinds of publicly available data sources, collected from institutions, corporations, apps and websites. Incorporated in different settings, his installations might appear to serve public interest. However, upon closer inspection, his work reveals a darker phenomenon: social media content offers the comfort of highlighting societal grievances without encouraging to take action or prevent them.

Ilina’s work, Do Humans Dream of Online Connection? critiques our intimate relationship with digital devices, making us acutely aware of the foreign nature of our digital dependencies. By combining the rigid surfaces of smartphones with the delicate art of hand embroidery, Ilina exposes the hidden labor and emotional investment behind our sleek digital interactions. Her work `Center for Technological Pain` further highlights our struggle for agency, offering absurd yet poignant DIY solutions to tech-induced ailments.

Awake with a stranger´s shoes on challenges us to confront the complexities of modern technology, not with the aim of mastering or simplifying, but to live with them more consciously and sustainably. By doing so, we can resist the lure of simplistic, deterministic narratives and instead foster a more nuanced understanding of our digital landscape, acknowledging that complexity is an inherent and inescapable part of our reality.


︎ dashailina.com
︎ul.fo


14


TecTales


Screening 02.06.2024, 7:30 pm



Photos by Maria Herold and Benedikt Scheitnagl
TecTales is a multidimensional screening event in the art space discotec, organized by Tina Kult. TecTales presents significant positions in contemporary video art and, alongside the exhibition program, creates a dedicated and communal space where moving images can be experienced in their full length. The event also features a musical and culinary program, providing a platform for lively discussions, creative interactions and valuable interchange opportunities.

TecTales is delighted to present a selection of short movies by Johanna Bruckner,Susanna Flock and S()fia Braga. The works delve into speculative, queer and gentle narratives that investigate the intersection between humans and technology. They offer diverse perspectives on non-human perception and agency, reflecting on the complexities of consciousness and existence.

The evening also features a hybrid DJ set by Alexander Martinz titled Whispers, Hisses, Wow + Flutter, a collage of a wide range of historical and contemporary Field Recordings and Musique Concrète. Using tape recordings, the set explores hauntological landscapes and the sheer physicality of its medium. A lazy Sunday meets a future that never came to pass.


PROGRAM


19:30 - 20:45 HYBRID DJ SET

Whispers, Hisses, Wow + Flutter by Alexander Martinz find him on soundcloud

21:00-21:50 VIDEO SCREENING

I don’t exist yet by Susanna Flock | AT | 2020 | 13’
Building A.I. out of Clay by Susanna Flock | AT | 2022 | 8’43
Metabolic Hardware by Johanna Bruckner | AT | 2023 | 17’30
Forehead Vulva Channeling Research by S()fia Braga| IT | 2021 | 5’19
The Artificial Conjuring Circle by S()fia Braga| IT | 2023 | 5’14

21:50 - 22:05

Q&A with S()fia Braga

22:15 - 00:00 LINK & LINGER
DJ set by Alexander Martinz

snacks & cocktails

︎ johannabruckner.com
︎susannaflock.net
︎ sofiabraga.com
︎admartinz.tumblr.com

︎ tinakult.com


13


Mid-air collisions


21.03.–28.04.2024

Kathrin Stumreich





Photos by Tina Kult

150,000 motorized mirrors reflect sunlight at the concentrated solar plant, located in the Mojave Desert, Ivanpah in the U.S. The focused sunbeams of this area can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees, attracting insects that perish in the intense heat. The manifestation of Kathrin Stumreich’s investigation of this occurrence is a central piece in her latest exhibition at discotec titled:
Mid-air collision.

During her on-site visit, she amassed 10 terrabytes of picture and video content, capturing observations of thermal activity, the color of the sky, and animal behavior. The interaction between the natural environment and the infrastructure of renewable energy sources is central to her multimedia installation.


This exhibition is part of Immediate Matters of the Vienna Climate Biennale.


︎
kathrinstumreich.com


12


PULLING THE PLUG


09.05.2024–31.05.2024

Anna Lerchbaumer




Photos by Tina Kult


In Anna Lerchbaumers Solo-Ausstellung PULLING THE PLUG werden Steckdosen zum Sockel ihrer Skulpturen und zu ironischen Kommentaren auf unsere vernetzte Gesellschaft. Die Steckdose, die lieblos in den Ecken unseres Alltags versteckt wird, ist die Hauptschlagader unseres digitalen Lebensstils. Anna Lerchbaumer macht sie zur Hauptdarstellerin.

In ihren multi-medialen Installationen zeigt Anna Lerchbaumer immer wieder auf humorvolle Weise eine Alltagspoetik, die das Gewöhnliche und unsere Umgebung hinterfragt. Sie erforscht die Beziehung zwischen Natur und Technologie, ebenso wie sie mit scharfen Blick auf die Absurditäten unserer Alltags blickt. Ihre vielfältige Praxis reicht von Skulptur über Sound Installationen zur Performance Kunst - eine verirrte Antenne macht elektromagnetische Schwingungen hörbar, während sich übergroße Ohropax dem digitalen Lärm entziehen wollen.

In Anna Lerchbaumer's solo exhibition PULLING THE PLUG, sockets become the base of her sculptures and ironic commentaries on our digitalized society. The power socket, lovelessly hidden in the corners of our everyday lives, is the main artery of our digital lifestyle. At discotec it becomes the main protagonist.

In her multi-media installations, Anna Lerchbaumer humorously presents an everyday poetic that questions the ordinary and our surroundings. She explores the relationship between nature and technology, as well as taking a sharp look at the absurdities of our everyday lives. Her diverse practice ranges from visual art to sound installations and performance - an antenna makes electromagnetic vibrations audible, while oversized earplugs try to escape the digital noise.



︎ annalerchbaumer.com


11


Nesting


25.01.2024–29.02.2024

Tamás Páll



Photos by Tina Kult


For it´s next program, discotec invites you to explore the ongoing research project of Hungarian artist Tamás Páll. Nesting is a reality-spanning role-play game where the artist blends failed utopian ideas and architecture using physical objects and performance.

“Nesting is an extension of LAIR, a project created in 2022 that summoned a fictional community of an abandoned biodome located in Budapest, Hungary. In the virtual level, para-fictional creatures and avatars exiled from colossal real-estate renders make the gallery their temporary dwelling. Scraps from their rituals are scattered in the space, while screen-based simulations keep their memories in limbo. In this new chapter the processes of virtual embodiment and architectural visualization are centered in a multimedia installation and a closing live performance.”

Tamás Páll


︎ www.tamaspall.com


10

I’m sorry
I made you feel that way


14.12.2023–12.01.2024

Martina Menegon  




Photos by Tina Kult



“I'm sorry I made you feel that way (memories of care)” is an interactive experience and performative self-portrait exploring new possibilities for empathy and care for our hybrid selves.
Martina Menegon’s biometric data collected daily via a wearable smart ring device is linked with an artificial avatar generated via Machine Learning AI. The physical body state - specifically in connection to stress and tiredness - has an immediate and direct impact on its virtual extension. When the artists physical needs are neglected and fatigue or stress sets in, the virtual self-portrait deteriorates, its interactions become increasingly challenging and eventually evolves into abstract behavior.

Accompanying the interactive installation, “I’m sorry I made you feel that way (memories of care).extended” is an iteration specifically created for digital, online and hybrid spaces. Screenshots taken from a live interaction with the work are transformed into virtual sculptures and Augmented Reality experiences.

In linking very personal biometric data to an AI generated avatar, “I'm sorry I made you feel that way (memories of care)” draws attention to our hybrid corporeality and how we can foster care both offline and online. With this intimate and intricate bond Martina Menegon creates a new sense of awareness for our virtual extensions and thereby with our selves.



︎ www.martinamenegon.xyz


09

If I had more time I would have written
a shorter letter


16.11.2023–07.12.2023

Hidéo Snes ︎Felix Helmut Wagner  



Photos by Tina Kult



The exhibition “If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter” features two artists exploring the obscure topic of an artificial intelligence making mistakes due to being too much in a hurry. It presents a curated collection of works reflecting on the new notions of the burgeoning changes AI introduces.

Artificial intelligence is not only a disruptor in the arts and creative fields. Living in the economic system of incessant optimization and exponentially accelerated growth expectations, AI can easily be seen both as a way of propelling us into the next phase of moving forward as well as a threat to our agency and relevance in the system as a whole.

The performance of Felix Wagner is an attempt at bringing human involvement in artificial intelligence to the forefront.The multi-screen video work of Hideo Snes transforms the artists and the curator, Felix Helmut Wagner, Hideo Snes and Peter Várnai, into an artificial intelligence-driven simulation. The virtual agents of the three are chatting, getting to know each other and they are organizing an art show in the virtual space of discotec.


︎ www.felixhelmutwagner.com
︎ www.hideosnes.online


08

Dreams of an electric sheep


18.10.2023–09.11.2023

Hanna Besenhard ︎Simon Goritschnig ︎
Line Finderup Jensen




Photos by Tina Kult

For the group exhibition Dreams of an electric sheep, discotec invites 3 artists working with different visual languages yet connected by a common thread. In their creative process they all form a constant feedback loop between the physical and the virtual world, creating an exchange between realities.

In the work of Simon Goritschnig, one finds “Everything is connected" - a motto under which he examines similarities and connecting points of all organisms, natural processes, thought structures, events and composition principles in the broadest sense. The Vienna based artist draws obscure entities in a VR software and 3d prints them as reliefs to further transform the original digital structure onto paper using a simple frottage technique.

In her VR and animation works Danish artist Line Finderup Jensen draws a colorful and sharp satire of our society. The virtual world she builds up is a humorously distorted version of our own. The topics of her paintings are often rooted in her digital works but rather than the language of absurdity they create tension and empathy by showing mundane moments from the world of her animation.

The Vienna based media artist Hanna Besenhard generates simple but strangely familiar shapes in a playful conversation with an artificial intelligence software. She merges the uncanny forms with a theater like structure and sculpts this image out of marble. Immersed in their cold stone arena, the masks seem to play in an accidental drama.

By seamlessly blending conventional techniques such as painting, sculpture, and drawing with digital tools, these artists prompt us to reconsider our perceptions of artistic heritage. With it´s ninth show, discotec invites its visitors to reflect on how technology redefines the very essence of traditional artistry and perhaps opens doors to a more unified appreciation of artistic expression in the digital age.


︎ hannabesenhard.com
︎ simongoritschnig.com
︎ linefj.com



07

ODD SIZE BAGGAGE


14.9.2023–10.10.2023

Flora Lechner ︎




Photos by Tina Kult

“Odd Size Baggage” is a series of three suitcase pieces, a hand luggage, a cabin bag and a check-in bag. These pieces unfold into furniture items reflecting upon the pursuit of happiness as well as the restless drive to self-optimization. Oversized baggage is the burden a person generally carries around that goes beyond normal concerns and takes on unusual forms. Thus, the suitcase becomes a symbol of departure. It is a companion in the search, while undergoing test procedures at the departure gate and in everyday life. It is required to comply with certain specifications, dimensions and weight regulations in order to pass as normal luggage. If it falls out of line, it is an “odd size baggage“. With this series Flora Lechner questions the constant urge of the search of the next destination, how happiness and positivity become equated with productivity, quality, even normality. The constant pressure to achieve a sense of well-being, as well as the normative idea of happiness leads to an inability to live more successful and fulfilling lives than already lived.

"Odd Size Baggage" ist eine Serie von drei Koffern, einem Handgepäckstück, einem Cabin Bag und einem Check-in-Bag. Diese Stücke entfalten sich zu Möbeln, die das Streben nach Glück ebenso reflektieren, wie den rastlosen Drang zur Selbstoptimierung. Übergroßes Gepäck steht für die Last, die eine Person mit sich herumträgt, die über normale Sorgen hinausgeht und ungewöhnliche Formen annimmt. So wird der Koffer zu einem Symbol des Aufbruchs. Er ist ein Begleiter bei der Suche, bei den Prüfverfahren am Abfluggate und im Alltag. Er muss bestimmte Maße und Gewichte einhalten und Vorgaben erfüllen, um als normales Gepäck durchzugehen. Fällt es aus der Reihe, handelt es sich um ein „Odd Size Baggage". Mit dieser Serie hinterfragt Flora Lechner den ständigen Drang der Suche nach dem nächsten Ziel, wie Glück und Positivität mit Produktivität, Qualität, ja Normalität gleichgesetzt werden. Dem ständigen Druck, ein normatives Wohlbefinden zu erreichen und der Idee des Glücks folgt die Unfähigkeit, ein erfüllteres Leben, als das bereits gelebte zu führen.

︎ floralechner.com


06

Fading


Echoes from the past


21.07.2023–25.08.2023

Michael Koch ︎ Karl Salzmann

with live sound performance by Karl Salzmann




Photos by Tina Kult

In der medienübergreifenden Ausstellung “FADING - Echoes from the past” verweben Michael Koch und Karl Salzmann ihre sehr persönlichen Erinnerungen an ihnen nahe gestandene Personen.

Akribisch gesammelte und geordnete Science-Fiction-Bücher, Miniaturskulpturen, Bilddokumente von Fernreisen, animierte Computergrafiken und eine Keramik-Manteltasche: all diese Dinge werden zu eigenständigen Entitäten, die im Rahmen der Präsentation versuchen, Geschichten zu erzählen, Fakten darzulegen und Verbindungen untereinander - aber auch zu den Besucherinnen - zu etablieren.

-
In the cross-media exhibition "FADING - Echoes from the past", Michael Koch and Karl Salzmann weave together very personal memories of people close to them.

Carefully collected and ordered science fiction books, miniature sculptures, image files from long-distance journeys, animated computer graphics and a ceramic coat pocket: all these things become entities in their own right, which in the context of the presentation try to tell stories, state facts and develop connections with each other - but also with the visitors.
︎ karlsalzmann


05

Footnote on a Neuron Scream


15.06.2023–14.07.2023

Nimova Projeckt

Sound collaboration with Új Bála


Photos by Tina Kult

"...Pain. First, a sharp, self-screaming neuron. Then the warning signal begins - by forming a chorus of others, to echo, to scream the pulsating need for attention. The pain, the feeling spreads, pours out, overwhelms everything, like a dark overflowing stream. Thus, there will be a mass rebellion in this Body, a symptom of the boycott."

If you look at the art object as an extension of human perception, the monologue of the video serves here as a temporary fusion of You and Me. As a footnote to the hard-to-model system that shapes a series of our behaviors, emotions and decisions into a unique whole, discotec invites you to sit down and merge into this speculative journey.


︎  nimova_projeckt
︎  Új Bála


04

O RAMBO



02.06.2023–09.06.2023

EIN HÖR- UND SEHSPIEL

von Marie Sturminger & Felix Dennhardt


Photos by Tina Kult

»O RAMBO« ist eine Theaterproduktion für die Straße.
Die Schleifmühlgasse dient dabei als Bühne. Das Publikum sitzt auf einer Tribüne in der Galerie discotec, deren großes Schaufenster als Rahmen des Geschehens dient.

Die Darsteller:innen sind mikrofoniert. Was sie sagen, während sie sich ins Straßengeschehen mischen, hört nur das Publikum in der Galerie – es sind die kleinen Geschichten in einer komplizierten Welt, mal unbemerkt, mal skurril, intim und komisch.

Während das Publikum die Schleifmühlgasse im Blick hat, werden die Szenen durch die Schnitte im Sound definiert. Es mischen sich Geräusche, wie das Anzünden einer Zigarette mit dem Kaugummischmatzen eines kleinen Jungen und den Stimmen eines streitenden Paares.

So wandert der Blick von Figur zu Figur - vom angrenzenden Café, ins vorbeifahrende Auto, bis zu dem Fenster auf der anderen Straßenseite. Unsere Figuren sind Suchende. In ihrer Suche sind sie alle gleich. Sie straucheln durch ihr bedeutungssüchtiges Leben, in diesem Augenblick ihres Daseins, in dem wir sie beobachten dürfen.

Musikalisch begleitet wird die Produktion von Roman Gessler, Florentin Scheicher und Florian Röthel, auch bekannt aus der Wiener Band Buntspecht.

mit Julian Binder, Rudi Froech, Roman Gessler, Vasilisa Grebenshchikova, Werner Jakits, Zoe Kaja Kursawe, Leander Leutzendorff, Lili Maritta Malmberg, Victoria Nikolaevskaja, Florian Röthel, Philipp Pess, Henrietta Rauth, Florentin Scheicher, Hermine Schwaisst

Sound und Live-Mischung
Max Szakaly, Ferdinand Doblhammer

Szenenbild
Philipp Pess



︎  felixmaria.com


03

limbs & tools



27.04.2023–11.05.2023

Eva Balayan ︎Margareta Klose︎Studio Matchka ︎ Péter Várnai




Photos by Tina Kult

The exhibition limbs & tools @discotec invites you to ponder about fluid bodies accumulating and acclimating in
pluralities according to their technical environments: the fluid as liquid, the fluidum as medium & message and habitat that shapes bodies and swarms.

the fluid border between one and two
one fluid becoming two becomin gone
where do you begin where I end within you
we are inside out of each other
streaming liquids of interplay accumulating in iridescent light
our fluid as image , the fluidum as message
we are surface

(Margareta Klose, fluid poem)


︎  evabalayan.com
︎  kojeklose.com
︎  peter.varnai_animations.com


02

Broth
Bucket



09.03.2023–01.04.2023

Philipp Pess ︎





Photos by Tina Kult & Anton Kvitchuk


Philipp Pess is breaking boundaries between Performance, Mixed Media Installation and Set Design.  With Broth Bucket, Pess takes us on a culinary journey through dantesque landscapes. Inspired by the taste of fried floppy disks, NFT´s
and 4D polygons, he succeeds in suffocating the longing for a peaceful world in the delusion of self-optimization.

The success of Pess’ Broth Bucket has attracted internationally acclaimed food bloggers, filmmakers and a significant fan crowd. So don't be disturbed by camera crews and masked Pess’ supporters while eating, on what will surely become an unforgettable evening at the Broth Bucket. Bon Appetit! Savoir vivre at discotec! 10/10

special contribution: Leon Höllhumer


︎ philipppess.com


01

The
Good
Place



26.01.2023–22.02.2023

Kiss Balázs Ágoston ︎Zsolt István Enyedi ︎ Andrea Mikyska MIU ︎ Lani Kotz ︎ Ulla Rauter ︎






Photos by Tina Kult

The Invitiation ︎

The first exhibition at discotec features a selection of works by Austrian and international artists - a gateway environment, populated by objects that merge into one another, finding themselves in ambiguous, transitory situationsAll of them exist in time; some are permanent, others ephemeral, but all are characterized by a shifting provisional state.

“In the eyes of many human beings, life appears to be a unique and special phenomenon. There is, of course, some truth to this belief, since no other planet is known to bear a rich and complex biosphere. However, this view betrays an “organic chauvinism” that leads to underestimate the vitality of the processes of self-organization in other spheres of reality. It can also make us forget that, despite the many differences between them, living creatures and their inorganic counterparts share a crucial dependence on intense flows of energy and materials. In many respects the circulation is what matters, not the particular forms that it causes to emerge.” 

[excerpt from “A thousand years of nonlinear history”, by Manuel DeLanda]


︎ agostonbalazs.com
︎ behance.net/zsoltenyedi
︎ andreamikyska.com
︎ sdfghhh.exe
︎ ullarauter.com