The idea of space, which the feminist geographer
Doreen Massey described as the interaction of stories, practices and relationships that constantly re-constitute themselves,
guides the exhibition. (2) The works on display build on this relational understanding of space; They deal with forms of transition,
translation or transformation. They specifically refer to material aspects, such as the residues inscribed in the space through
its previous use – lifting platforms, tool holders, supply pipes, or traces of the work carried out there – as well as to
immaterial coordinates, such as the history and social structure of the surrounding St. Marx district.
The past
and present of St. Marx impressively testify to the city’s constant transformation and its systems. Far from the city gates,
an “infirmary” was built in the 13th century, which later became the St. Marx Hospital and developed into a welfare facility
from the 18th century onwards (3). Incorporated as part of Vienna’s third district in 1850, the cattle market and the slaughterhouse
shaped St. Marx and made it a centre of the meat industry. This period of industrialization also saw the massive spread of
the automobile, which also affected spatial structures such as the road network. There were market halls, trading companies,
warehouses and office buildings – urban supply infrastructures that changed with their respective times. Today, technology
research and production, among other things, determine the district’s texture (4). In this context, the empty car dealership
can be read as an expression of structural change.
A simultaneity of stories-so-far explores a place’s
relational character and uses artistic means to approach its multidimensional nature. The exhibition and the works are not
seen as finished products but rather as a process of correlating relationships with an open end. (Juliane Bischoff)
Opening hoursTuesday & Wednesday 11am–2pm
Thursday & Friday 3pm–6pm
(1) Doreen
Massey (2005): For Space. London: SAGE, S.9.
(2) ebd.
(3) „Spital zu St. Marx”, in: Wien Geschichte Wiki,
via
www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Spital_zu_St._Marx
[23/2/2024]
(4) „St. Marx”, in: Wien Geschichte Wiki, via:
https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/St._Marx
[23/2/2024]
