If you hear the name of the Mayor of the City of Graz, the Provincial Councillor for Culture, Health, Care and Personnel or a well-known artist next to that of a friend or even a stranger in a public space, you inevitably ask yourself what connects these people. Are we witnessing something that should remain secret, but is now unintentionally being made public? Hangl deliberately emphasises this impression, on the one hand through the whispering and on the other through a soundtrack that creates an aura of mystery and eeriness. With this sound installation, the artist evokes a vague feeling of recognition and plays with levels of perception, consciousness and supposed cognition.
This is the first of three parts of the WEIRDING project, which works with media-generated speculation and even hysteria. The artist uses the method of viral marketing - with the difference that there is no specific message to be spread via the subconscious. The tools Hangl uses are "empty" - shells. They are charged solely by the recipients of his work, whereby Hangl uses the means of art and marketing to deliberately fuel speculation, which develops a certain momentum of its own and can no longer be controlled by him. It is not Hangl himself who starts rumours; these arise solely through the reception of his work.
Part 1 will take place on the exterior façade of the Eisernes Haus from July to October 2019. The installation can only be heard on site.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
