Richard Hoeck (b. 1965 , Austria)
the ecstasy of becoming trash, 2020 [exhibition]
Dead Mannequin 1, 2020

Gabriele Senn Galerie, Vienna, Austria / Visited 18/01/2020

Mannequins “looking” at paintings. It took me few seconds to grasp what was going on – there was something uncanny with the visitors I saw through those big gallery windows. A little bit too still, a little bit too close to the work, a little too uniformly dressed, a little bit too perfectly distributed in space.

In my practice I am quite concerned with positions and perspectives, I also like turning tables in order to explore conditions of the “normal” or “expected”. What I am most excited in this exhibition is idea of “art looking at art” as well as of this stalled moment of enjoying art on a wall in a white cube institution. From there my thoughts go in all kinds of directions – what/whom is art for? What was it I was registering in that uncanny moment? What is the nature of relationship between the artwork and the audience? What becomes visible if this relationship is unsettled? Can art look at art? Does art look back at us? To what extent can those roles of looking and being looked at be blurred? Painting vs mannequin is one thing. Live performer vs live viewer is another. Artificial intelligence being engaged in making as well as appreciating art is another still. Those situations are different, but also similar. Those glitches and overlaps is one of the focal points of my practice, too.