Climate Dignity encompasses the idea that
all people have the right
to live in a world where their health, freedom, and livelihoods are not threatened
by climate
change. In the spirit of climate justice, this applies especially to those
individuals, communities, and countries most affected
or likely to be affected
by climate change, who are thus in particular need of protection. At the same
time, Climate Dignity
emphasizes that the consequences of human-induced
climate change and the associated loss of biodiversity not only threaten
human
dignity but also endanger nature. The concept underlying Climate Dignity places
the more-than-human relationships
at its core, highlighting the interdependence
of humans and nature: to violate the dignity of nature is to harm human dignity.
This group exhibition at the Kuenstlerhaus Vienna frames Climate Dignity as a call to action.
The research conducted
by participating artists and the resulting works aim to equip us
all with knowledge and courage to resist the ongoing destruction
of our world.
The following artists and collectives are represented and also teach and/or conduct research at the
University of Applied Arts Vienna: Andreas Duscha, Ernst Logar, Shaken Grounds, Christoph Höschele.
“The geo-philosopher moves along the crest of turbulence,
on the shoulders of waves that envelop
mind, energy, and matter,
and that diffuse them into the atmosphere.” (Gilles Deleuze, 1993)
Even before the
Anthropocene, disruptive geological forces were compelling artists
to reflect on the fragility of existence and the origins
of their age. Such events raised
fundamental questions about where to ground reason when the conditions of life could
shift
so radically. Natural disasters—like the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in southern Italy
—have long served as focal points
for both scientific inquiry and artistic reflection.
According to the myth of Rome's founding, Aeneas entered
the underworld through
the trembling Phlegraean Fields—surrounded now by Europe’s largest illegal toxic dump—
to seek guidance
on where to settle after his long journey.
On the other hand, the major eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE was associated
with
the sudden threats posed by the Iron Age, a period marked by austerity and wars
that prompted a range of artistic responses.
Today, areas prone to seismic activity are
influencing artistic research and expression in a different way. While
such places once
connected people to a poly-temporal world view, they now bear the weight of new,
man-made pressures. Global
warming, groundwater extraction, resource mining,
clean energy technologies, and waste disposal are all increasing the strain
on the Earth’s crust,
resulting in human-accelerated earthquakes. This almost incomprehensible, yet undeniable
phenomenon
highlights the complexity of the ecological crisis, revealing disturbing
new entanglements between humanity and the environment.
The artist collective Shaken Grounds revisits the continental margins of southern Italy,
exploring the intersections
of natural seismic activity and anthropogenic environmental damage
through an interwoven mesh of artistic experiments. They
recognize that the trembling of the earth,
once regarded as one of Gaia’s natural forces, is now being driven by human interference
as well.
Art, as research and practice, excels in detecting and expressing the changing relationship
between humanity and
our evolving, technologically influenced, and highly damaged geological environment.
On April 11, 2025, 16:00–19:00
a mini symposium with short lectures, performance,
and audience discussion on the recording of geological, social, and psychological
tremors with
Arno Böhler (philosopher), Daniel Brandlechner (literary scholar), Nikolaus Gansterer (artist),
Mariella Greil
(choreographer and dancer), Victor Jaschke (filmmaker),
Peter Kozek (artist), and Lucie Strecker (artist) takes place.
Shaken Grounds is funded by PEEK program of the Austrian Science Fund Austria.
The exhibtion IMAGINE CLIMATE
DIGNITY
is Co-curated by Barbara Hoeller and Simon Mraz.
A joint project of the Section for International Cultural
Affairs in the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the Austrian Cultural Forums, and the Kuenstlerhaus Association.
Christoph
Höschele’s work is an experimental exploration of the catchment area of the Bílina River in Northern Bohemia. He went on multi-day
trips in the area to examine nature and visible human impact on it using film.
He used the collected material to create
a large-format video piece that, in a no-comments style, shows the manifestations of the Bílina from source to delta.
See all participating artists at
imagineclimatedignity.at/en/about
