Installation "Only the delicate are capable of waiting!"
(Cooperation with Bertram Schrecklich)
Components:
1x Bench
1x Mannequin + Clothing
1x Ticket
1x Timetable
1x Wall Clock
1x Explanatory Text
Exhibition Location:
“Kiosk” of the former valley station of the Hungerburgbahn
Waiting can be perceived in many different ways. Whether waiting is seen as wasted time, a test of patience, provocation, a gift of time, or a welcome break depends on the personal disposition of the person waiting and the context in which the waiting occurs. For instance, children eagerly anticipating the next Christmas or birthday often experience excitement, while business travelers stuck in unexpected traffic on their way to the airport, fearing they might miss their flight check-in, experience pure stress. In some cases, initial anticipation during the wait can quickly give way to impatience, nervousness, aggression, and/or resignation due to delays or associated disruptions. Particularly when delays happen repeatedly, those affected may feel hopeless and fear more severe consequences than initially expected. This reaction is understandable, as the trust of those affected has been repeatedly disappointed and ultimately eroded. However, when people have already invested significant emotional, temporal, and/or financial resources in an endeavor, they may ignore warning signs such as the postponement of binding appointments or substantial additional costs. In such cases, they cling to the belief that what must not be true cannot be true. Contrary to the common saying, faith alone neither moves mountains nor makes the impossible possible.
Depending on the context and the reliability of anticipated waiting times, waiting can therefore have significant consequences for those affected. It’s essential to emphasize that this does not apply to unavoidable and/or transparently communicated waiting times.
To express the effects of waiting unambiguously, we decided to transform the kiosk into a typical waiting room of public transport services. Here, a completely desperate passenger (long disheveled hair, fingernails, clothing matching the fashion of the respective era) with a valid ticket in hand is portrayed waiting in vain for the next ascent of the old Hungerburgbahn. With this installation, we aim to draw attention to the ambivalence of the topic. Visitors are invited to reflect on the responsibilities of all parties involved – the promise-maker (in our installation, the railway operators), the promise-receiver (the passenger), and their surroundings (the audience). When are contractors (service, production companies, political representatives, but also friends and family) obliged to inform waiting clients or other dependent persons about delays or the non-fulfillment of a contract or agreement? How often can delays be adjusted further back? When should the service recipient take responsibility and abandon their hopes to seek alternatives instead of losing more valuable time and, in some cases, financial resources? In times when virtues such as reliability, obligation, responsibility, or dependability are increasingly replaced by attributes like flexibility and independence, we believe it is crucial to take a closer look. It is particularly important to determine why this shift in values is occurring, who is responsible, who benefits, and who ultimately suffers.
A special responsibility lies with politics and, subsequently, the economy concerning the fulfillment of promises and international agreements. Especially regarding climate protection and CO2 emissions, it is indisputable that inherently binding international agreements are currently interpreted far too "flexibly" or "laxly" and simply not implemented.
Speaking of non-implementation: Unfortunately, the practice of failing to fulfill promises, which often involve comprehensive and thus potentially impactful climate policies, or postponing them to "later (!?)" also applies to various other sectors. In addition to the social, health, and care sectors, which are experiencing an acute care crisis due to delayed or missed reforms, the contemporary – particularly the independent – cultural and art scene also suffers from unfulfilled cultural-political promises of recent years and decades. Promising, innovative art and cultural projects aimed at generating societal value are initially approved, with their developers kept minimally funded, only to be ultimately driven to abandon their efforts due to excessive bureaucratic hurdles and/or subsidy cuts.
June 2023