In the framework of the exhibition "Holes in the Wall." Anachronic Approaches to the Here and Now, curated by Gudrun Ratzinger
The discovery of oil fundamentally changed life on Earth, as one would expect at first glance. Katrin Hornek investigates these transformations in the series “Planetary System Summit.” She selects sites where the main themes and protagonists of the global climate change are present – for instance, a pipeline at the southern end of the Danube Island, on the edge of oil port Lobau ("Planetary System Summit #1", November 2, 2016) or the largest continuous oil reserve of Central Europe in Matzen-Raggendorf, 35 km northeast from Vienna ("Planetary System Summit #2", March 24, 2018). In her Systemic Constellation Works on the most important human and non-human agents the artist follows material traces and stories about the omnipresence of oil. Multifaceted relationships are revealed – for example, between prehistoric organisms and slowly decaying microplastics, between a borehole in the Weinviertel and the Iranian Revolution, or between the wish to mitigate the climate crisis and our dependency on this natural resource. (text Gudrun Ratzinger)
Opening Session
23.03.2018, Kunsthalle Exnergasse
Experts from different fields speak about fossil energy, organic compounds, oil exploitation in the Weinviertel region, and the representation of structural relationships.
With: Ute Hargassner (mediator specializing in Systemic Constellation Work), Linda Lerchbaumer (exploration geologist) and Benjamin Steininger (cultural theorist specializing in petro-culture)
Planetary System Summit #2, 24.03.2018
Systemic Constellation Work at borehole BO 57, Bockfließ (Lower Austria) with partly invited guests and exhibition visitors