The Austrian artists Christoph Steinbrener and Rainer Dempf are known for their funny, bizarre installations and activities. Whether they paint an astronaut on the ceiling of a Vienna Jesuit church (Jesuitenkosmos) or create a fake NASA box office (Ticket to the moon) ? they always succeed in creating an unexpected confrontation between virtual worlds and real environment.
This summer they met at the Zoo Schönbrunn in order to create 6 different installations, which focus on the Ready-made method. They confront the spectator with the succeeding destruction of natural habitats by humans, by sinking a car in the rhino pool, railway tracks through the bison enclosure or a barrel with poison in an aquarium.
The ready made method offers the possibility to initiate a change through confrontation of nature and civilisation. The materials used, in this example original locations, are liberated from their primal function and can be used for new connotations. This deformation of reality is an attempt to pick up the issue of nature orchestration beyond scientific argumentation and objectivity. It can be viewed as a whole new perspective change. Today?s concept of zoos mainly focuses on presenting the animals in their idyllic, untouched surroundings. However this form of presentation is completely new. Until the early 20th century it was modern to present them in an exotic, sensational way, which was supposed to entertain the audience.
Now the presentation of natural habitats is threatened to pass reality as well, since these are endangered by humans.
The zoo Schönbrunn, which is one of the most liked tourist attractions in Austria is the ideal partner for this new concept. There is a publication out now which documents this project.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE, published by Christoph Steinbrener, Rainer Dempf and Bernhard Kellner. Texts by Dorothée Bauerle-Willert, Bernhard Kellner and Ernst Strouhal, detailed discussions with Steinbrener/Dempf und Dagmar Schratter, Director of the zoo Schönbrunn, several pictures of the sculptures and their creation. orange-press, Freiburg; Deutsch/ Englisch, 21 x 27 cm, ISBN 978-3-936086-46-1, ? 20,- (D) | ? 20,60 (A) | SFr 34,50 (CH)
Further information: http://www.steinbrener-dempf.com/files/trip_presse_rhino.jpg
