'A TERRIBLE DOORSTOP' by Markus Sworcik & René Stiegler at KEIL Gallery, Graz

 

... piles of supposedly litter describing a reality which we all felt would come, subliminally, subconsciously... but refuse to acknowledge. 

Stepping into a wasteland between the preposterous (1). An intrinsic mess, so terrible you are hardly willing to enter, but at the same time crave for. Rough Skins. The calm before the actual event, a wait for change. simply stuck inside a story. Suddenly, I saw all these rearranged objects in this uncomfortable situation, from underneath my desk, under piles of shit, cut themselves into ribbons. some encounters, visible as blinking phones (ready to Be answered). Peasants of tech, buried in litter, mostly charred, weathered, seemingly scarred. Some of them are untes- ted verified objects and material stemming from a peculiar crisis. All those rituals, screaming with wet lungs fanning smoke and haze. Even the sun‘s rotation is off by unknown degrees. But what do you expect? Endless crippling scenes of us running around in the dark. holding candles trying to keep them alive in the arising wind (2), just some with flashlights. Reoccurring tools appear– boots to kick ass. And then, as predicted, a cold stormy climate upheaval takes place which dooms everyone. But look, there is still hope, which can be filled with thoughtlessness, fake colors and foremost possibilities. In the future we adore creatures with subtle, rough geni- tals and small limbs. species of amnesia. 

(1) an ordered wasteland, being content with failure, future and past, old and new 
(2) Candle scene, NOSTALGHIA (1983), Tarkovsky 

The duo exhibition „A terrible doorstop“ by Markus Sworcik and René Stiegler attempts to sketch a non-functional state and at times suggests a dilemma, a state of limbo. The exhibition juggles intrinsic states of mind, materiality that embodies these impressions, and a penchant for the improvisational. Both artists‘ interest comes from the scenic, getting lost in atmospheres, creating a sense of space and object. A space that feels different, strange. The intended emotio- nal worlds touch anomalies, fears, inner frictions, dystopias or also fast growing influence by technology. The tipping states addressed are also found in society, and everyday life. Likewise, the objects and works in this exhibition, constructed both individually and collectively, carry emotional threshold states.