Through the use of the split screen and a radical black and white, Wibmer creates an open and undefined space, designed to be essentially a space of experience for the actors and an extension of the viewer’s perspectives. 10 performers interact with a textile prop handmade by the artist; the absence of instructions on how to wear it brings out the individuality of each, while becoming a language. The textile is a second skin in a ritual made up of moments of showing and hiding, in which something universally human unfolds. [Alessandra Tempesti, curator at Lottozero Kunsthalle, Prato, Italy]
The video work ‘Relay’ explores presence and absence through material and moving bodies, a shifting of power that constantly multiplies and reshapes itself. Ten participants, all close friends of the artist, interpret a textile prop that was created by Wibmer for the purpose of the intervention, enabling a transmission. Balancing on the boundaries of tangible materiality and digital (im)materiality, these improvisations in front of a black background reveal intrinsic processes. Individual states of the soul may surface and also a deep awareness, connecting us with others and with the world. Wibmer sees the performers as representatives of something universally human, which shapes the broader context of this work.
The video work was released in parallel with a series of photographs, portraits of the performers and the eponymous book publication, published by Vfmk – Verlag für moderne Kunst, Vienna as well as a Collectors Edition.
RELAY, 2020, video, 14:50 min. Limited Edition 3
Margret Wibmer: Concept, design textile object, camera & lighting. / Florian Krepcik: Video production & edit / Robert Poss: music & sound design / Performers: Al Attara, Alva Rogers, Bi Lee, Laura Rubin, Linda Mason, Michael Chang, Nina Allen, Suzanne Morianz, Mara Meyers, Tania Haselwander.
The realisation of this video was generously supported by FondsKwadraat, Land Tirol, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds / Tijlfonds, Federal Ministry Republic of Austria – Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport.