Catalogue > At random
Markus Hanakam, Roswitha Schuller
The Moist Cabinet
Vidéo | 4k | couleur | 5:8 | Autriche, Allemagne | 2021
THE MOIST CABINET is inspired by the literary genre of climate fiction. Through the voice-over of the film, we encounter poems by Bettina von Arnim and William Shakespeare, each in the original language. Hanakam & Schuller view these poems from the 16th and 19th centuries a prequel to cli-fi. Both poets seem to be in dialogue with each other, yet testify to different attitudes: in Shakespeare, the description of nature serves as a catalyst of sexual desire; in Arnim, the physical encounter with nature triggers a need to preserve the source of erotic experience: “Your silence, nature, do not break.?/?Not on rustling leaf?/?With stylus wake thee.” THE MOIST CABINET thus also describes the influence of literary narratives on the relationships between nature and humans, and the consequential actions.
HANAKAM & SCHULLER is an artist duo living in Vienna. As artists and explorers, Markus Hanakam and Roswitha Schuller redesign the rules of fine arts and create unconventional arrangements and new world designs in videos and objects as well as applied artforms. Their works have been shown in Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; MAK, Vienna; MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles; and the National Art Center in Tokyo. In 2022 they will work with Current Interests on a spatial installation for MAK Garage Top in Los Angeles.