behausung — Liliana Schaber

What happens when being outside is potentially dangerous and actually forbidden? What happens when your social life suddenly stands still, what do you do to stay sane? What keeps you staying afloat?
These questions are all too familiar now. Everyone experienced a lockdown or quarantine differently, but for many, similar things helped with coping with this unique situation. And one of these things is often routine. A routine that holds everything together and keeps you from shattering. Simple, repeatable actions that bring you out of a negative cycle into the present, mindful activities which might seem trivial, but are now existential.

All of the above and more was explored in an exhibition and performance at the Notgalerie in Seestadt, Vienna, at the End of July 2020. Kreatur (a society for transdisciplinary and intercultural initiatives) created an immersive performance in an old barn/church, where different artworks and poems by Iris Weigel were interpreted by Victoria Primus. It represented the various stages of isolation, how you have to kickstart yourself every morning, how you keep the pieces together, how you keep moving without going anywhere.
I was responsible for a piece as well - a jacket, made out of rustling packing paper, meant to be worn, but not meant for wear.

The jacket looks almost like a beetle’s back. Cracked in the middle, hiding and revealing different shapes, covering and exposing them simultaneously. Its raw and unfinished edges are in contrast to the symmetric pleats and big folds. A smooth, yet stiff material tries to look voluminous and soft, seemingly sharp edges are blunt and harmless. The jacket is full of contradictions, but its function is clear:
It encases you with its cocoon-shape, providing a habitat, a safe space. Security in uncertain times. A ‘behausung’ - a dwelling. But it needs to be taken care of as well: It wrinkles and rips and tears easily, so it must be handled with care. It is a symbiotic relationship between wearer and garment, between inhabitor and habitat. A respectful handling from both sides.

Being able to be part of this project and presenting my work after months of inactivity was like a breath of fresh air. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given by Kreatur and Reinhold Zisser, the initiator of the Notgalerie. Seeing the cultural life of this city slowly resurface and take up space again was a joy to witness: I hope this will be the way forward. The jacket may not have survived the evening, but the thirst for creativity and the hope to bring change will continue to live on.