Steinbrener/Dempf & Huber

The Viennese artist collective Steinbrener/Dempf & Huber is known for its spectacular installations in public spaces. In September 2020, the trio caused a sensation with its intervention “Cliffhanger” in the Ötschergräben: a bright red tourist information booth in the middle of the steep gorge of the idyllic Mirafalls reveals, with a wink, how much nature is being taken over by the machinery of tourism. Anyone who wants to see the work has to complete a hike. The installation was accessible again from April to September 2021.

The exhibition ties in with the “Cliffhanger” project—a spectacular staging by a tourist office in the Ötschergräben in the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park. Now, the artist collective is turning its attention to the genre of selfies, which reflect the phenomenon of tourism through a distorting mirror.

The selfie has become the most visually powerful genre of all time in terms of quantity. So it is surprising that it has received little attention in the visual arts to date. Places that were hardly a focus for tourism are suddenly overrun because of their “selfie suitability.” Some of them even become forbidden zones because people have repeatedly died in falls while taking photographic self-portraits. Thus, this self-expression machine not only interferes with our lives, but also changes our environment.

Steinbrener/Dempf & Huber invite us to take part in a journey that allows us to become an active part of the exhibition. Half a dozen installations offer the opportunity to embark on a journey around the world via selfie. However, this journey leads to the abysses of tourism and the devastation caused by collective travel. The obligatory selfie smile becomes a caricature of itself here.

Curator: Christian Bauer