Sensible Systeme
Installation consisting of five ceramic panels and a video documentation.
Results of the work “Erdzeitalter”, which was realized as part of the Climate Biennale 2024 as a contribution of the class for site-specific art (University of Applied Arts Vienna).
Idea and concept: Ursula Gaisbauer
Technical support: Marie Janssen
Realization with students of the class for site-specific art: Anna Brock, David Fedders, Marie Filippovits, Lena Heinschink, Laura Josic, Tutku Kocabas, Flores Paul, Yevhenia Pavlova, Michelle Schäfer, Lin Wolf, Ida Zahradnik
Video documentation: Nick Shandra
The idea of the Phoenix Complex, that humanity must burn the earth in order to renew it, is as old as humanity itself. However, this idea sacrifices the long-term future in favor of the immediate present. In her work “Earth Ages”, Ursula Gaisbauer questions the trust in the regenerative powers of nature and counters it with artistic-ritual action.
The emergence and death of species over millions of years was transferred to the entire duration of the Vienna Climate Biennale and recreated in the form of workshops. In this collective process, five ceramic panels (Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous) were created that depict these sensitive systems.
The plants and animals of the corresponding geological age were formed from clay, assembled into collective sculptures, dried, glazed and fired. For the special firing process, a ceramic kiln was set up on site with Marie Janssen and fired with wood for 8-12 hours at a time to reach over 1,200 degrees.
Foto: Bruno Stubenrauch