Walter Kirpicsenko,
Alexander Klose
:
Hohenau Landmark
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Three paths, each of which follows the axis to one of the capital cities of the countries neighbouring at Dreiländereck (Weinviertel/A, South Moravia/CZ, West Bohemia/SK), all lead to a circular structure on stilts. Quotations from three authors have been stamped into this ring in the three official languages of these neighbouring countries.
The recentness (1 May, 2004) of the expansion of the European Union in the East ought not distract from the long running history of geographical proximity and political separation that characterises the regions of Austria on the borders to the countries east of them. The feeling of alienation and scepticism, but also of curiosity or the need to come closer to each other has been expressed in monumental style in the Landmark planned by KirpicsenkoKlose for where the Weinviertel, South Moravia and West Slovakia border on one another – i.e. the three countries of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The trinity as well as the continual overlapping of inside and outside, insularity and openness are the dominant features in their design. The installation is situated in a crater surrounded by a bank of earth and reached via three clearly defined paths. The paths themselves follow the route as the crow flies directly to the capital cities of each of the neighbouring countries. A two-layered ringed construction is held on three uprights. The ring bears perforated text, quotations from Jirí Gruša, Marlene Streeruwitz and Magdalena Vášáryová translated into the languages of the three countries. The quotations are reflected on the inside, and they are lit at night so they stand out. The lines call for mutual respect between people and are directed against all forms of ideology and xenophobia.
(Katrina Petter)
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