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Josef Dabernig :
Mural

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Vösendorf, 1998

Information

The computer-generated large-scale image lit from behind in the entrance hall of the home for the elderly at Vösendorf depicts the blueprint of the home's ground level. Vistors and residents are confronted with an abstraction of the entire building.

The entrance hall, the subject of this design competition, is characterized by several conspicuous elements such as an elliptical chapel, a snack bar, various chairs and table arrangements, as well as a metal bridge which jut into the room at ceiling level. With this in mind, the architect encouraged the artists to project their ideas onto the wall space to the right of the entrance. This space which is two story high was at the time the only one as yet unused in the hall. On it I hung a computer generated large-scale picture 275cm wide and 414cm high. The picture which is lit from behind in the hours of darkness, depicts the blueprint of the home's ground level. Thus, visitors and residents of the home are confronted with an abstraction of the entire building as they enter the hall; their sensual perception is mingled with a strictly coded one. Simultaneously, the large-scale depiction of the blueprint wants to act as a catalyst for viewers, making them wonder at what it is they are perceiving - information or transformation? Reproduced signs become metaphors of reality versus abstraction, incorporating in themselves both distance and bondage with the space experienced.
(Josef Dabernig)