Almwiesensymphonie

In the time-sculptural work Almwiesensymphonie, the greensward of a natural alpine landscape is ruptured by a sudden detonation. A loud bang. The landscape itself becomes the score, its reverberations and echoes unfolding in time. A cloud of smoke rises, then slowly dissolves back into the scene. What remains is a fissure in the meadow—an enduring mark of disruption.

For a fleeting moment, the stability of the image of alpine environment is shaken. In collaboration with pyrotechnician Phillip J. Braunschober, artists Anna Lerchbaumer and Andreas Zißler construct a temporal sculpture using a controlled pyrotechnic effect, typically designed for film and television. Though it mimics an explosion, it is not a "real" one in the conventional sense. Yet in an instant, the perception of the landscape is radically altered.