Artist in Residence 2013

For the programme 2013, the artist Mandla Reuter was invited to artistically discuss the Austrian Sculpture Park. Born in 1975 in Nqutu, South Aftrica, he lives and works in Berlin and Basel. He studied from 1996-2002 at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Frankfurt ans since was exhibited in multiple group- an solo shows, a.o. at the Kunsthalle Basel early in 2013. In his artworks, he deals with the dichotomy and dependency of fiction and reality. Furthermore, theories of situatedness and locality are often in the centre of his considerations.

For the residency at the Austrian Sculpture Park, he dealt with the concept of sculpture, which his work Parks negotiates and amplifies on multiple layers. In due consideration of the venue of the Austrian Sculpture Park, Reuter constitutes references that stretch further beyond the limits of the park. Consisting of multiple parts, the artwork Parks is his attempt to be at various locations at the same time, combining the idea of a park with tangible actions. Thereby, the existing location is being shifted into a state of uncertainty between reality and fiction. Walkways and visual axes turn into sculpture by the power of choice, combining them with pieces of disparate materiality, such as the artists’ suit, worn by different persons and thus representing the variability of his presence but also his doubling.

The diversity of references allows different narratives. The various components certainly include the classical sculptural requirement, as the artist adds an artwork to the existing collection of sculptures. Consisting of a tree trunk supporting an unhewn block of Carrara marble positioned on the roof of the Berggarten-Café, the sculpture is made of traditional materials.

In addition to this central motive, guided tours took place, invoking considerations of absence and presence. The guide deliberately wasn’t the artist himself. Instead, an actress, wearing his suit, doubling as him, explained the artwork and the intention of the artist. The suit as a shell of another person transfers itself and thus the person onto the new carrier.

In the course of the guided tour, the watch tower on the propery of the Schwarzl leisure centre was incorporated, which usually can’t be accessed. The view from the tower as a visual axis is a part of the Reuters concept of sculpture. Equally crucial to his concept is the path you walk on, as walkways are an essential part of parks.

The view, the walkways, the classic sculptural materials are combined with the fleetingness of human life and the issue of physicality in exchange of persons through the suit as a further element of Reuters sculptural work.

Parks was opened at September 8, 2013 through a collective tour and a statement of the artist concerning his work, who again was replaced by the actress in his suit.