In “Ausländer/Inländer”, a diptych I painted two decades ago, we meet a young woman who is wearing really cool designer frames. She has clipped an ID card to her chest, which once identifies her as a national, once as a foreigner. It remains hidden at first glance whether this inscription is jewelry or stigma, freely chosen or prescribed by the authorities, true or false. Through this conscious abandonment of the intention, viewers are called upon to train their perceptual capacities – and to deal with labels and classifications, as well as especially the natural or unconsidered consequences of such a branding. That said, “Ausländer/Inländer” could be read as a work on identities and attributions.
The paintings are currently on view at State Gallery of Lower Austria, in the exhibition “Spuren und Masken der Flucht”, curated by Günther Oberhollenzer and Georg Traska.
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