March 07, 2018
Kunsthalle Exnergasse KEX Studio, Vienna, AT

Presentation of the poster edition on the occasion of the AiR-programme „West Balkan Calling“ with Stefano Romano/DZT, Dante Buu, Veronika Eberhart, Nina Valerie Kolowratnik, Marko Kosović, Wolfgang Obermair, Danilo Prnjat, Gregor Schlatte, Deniz Sözen, tadi, Inge Vavra, Velimir Zernovski

The subjects of the poster series presented were created in the frame of the artist in residence programme »West Balkan Calling« or were inspired by it. In the course of this programme, 12 artists spent one month in Belgrade, Cetinje, Prishtina, Sarajevo, Skopje or Tirana, as well as in Graz, Klagenfurt, Krems, Linz or Vienna. Parallel to the presentation at KEX Studio, the exhibition »responseABILITY« of works by the artists involved will take place at in Graz.

Performances with: Stefano Romano, Dante Buu, Wolfgang Obermair/Jakub Vrba

Address:
WUK Währinger Straße 59
1090 Wien

wuk
rotor

During a one-month artist residency in Skopje (Macedonia), I attempted to respond artistically to the city's infrastructure and urban situation, exploring the question of to what extent Skopje can be viewed as a body. Among other things, I was interested in the relationship between the predominantly Roma-populated district of Opština Šuto Orizari (commonly known as Shutka) and the city center.

After the devastating earthquake of 1963, many Roma people were resettled in Shutka. Today, it is home to around 30,000 residents and is relatively isolated from public life, making it the largest Roma community in Europe. The district’s coat of arms features, among other things, a Roman aqueduct that was decommissioned in the 18th century—an overlooked landmark of Skopje. From an urban planning perspective, the approximately 400-meter-long aqueduct forms a kind of vector linking Shutka with the city center.

Roma people are a constant presence on the streets of Skopje, collecting empty plastic water bottles from trash bins to later sell them as recyclable material. The image of the decommissioned aqueduct and the circulation of plastic water bottles has left a lasting impression on me—it reflects the precarious situation of the Roma more clearly than the aqueduct alone, which stands as a relic of a bygone era that feels largely disconnected from the present.

As an artist, I believe one cannot formulate a scientific thesis or offer a solution to a social problem. What one can do, however, is create images that raise open-ended questions. In that sense, the photographic work “Skopje Aqueduct Wet Towel Try” is a result of this engagement.

Skopje aqueduct wet towel try
Photography
2016

Wolfgang Obermair Dresdner Strasse 46/10 1200 Vienna / Austria