Helene Thümmel
Kritik und Kontrolle (Critique and Control, 2024)
Commissioned work
Courtesy of the artist
Dates
20.9.2024–16.2.2025
Details
Mixed-media installation
Location
Neue Galerie Graz, Graz
Part of
Horror Patriae: Exhibition
Production specifics
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
Helene Thümmel’s installation combines a mental map of Austria with its physical topography. In the run-up to the country’s 2024 national elections, she has clipped recurring words and phrases reflecting the hottest topics and electoral issues from the Austrian press. These appear like tiny prayer flags or slogans displayed on pins, resembling place-names or labels of a landscape relief.
Thümmel’s topography is not limited to Austria, but includes places and geographical features beyond its borders, indicating the persistent ambitions and spheres of interest of the former empire. Her semantic map shows the struggles between right and left, revealing intensified battles over how to deal with cultural otherness, with other places and territories always on the horizon.
Retrospective
Retrospective