Cornelius Kolig :
Austrians First

The work of Cornelius Kolig is characterised by a continuing diverse and complex engagement with social sensibilities and events. He frequently also engages in a critical reflection of political taboos and ideologies.
Austrians First is the title the artist has given to an installation initiated by Gernot Schultz in 2009 and then realised in July 2010 at 5 Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse, opposite the Kunsthalle Krems. At the end of two six-metre-long metal rods that project high over the street, sticking out of the façade of number 5, the Schauraum 35/nullnull, are two bird boxes executed in stainless steel. At first they look impressively elegant and cheerful. However on looking at them for longer there soon prove to be irritating aspects to them. First, there is the noisy location above the main road itself, which is everything but an ideal location for this kind of bird box; in addition, there is no opening for the birds to get into the boxes to be found. And by no means least, it is the material itself, the metal, which causes the sealed nesting boxes to accumulate heat under the sun.
Kolig has positioned a striking and memorable symbol with this façade installation, among other things for the current political and social debate on immigrants and their residency rights: designed and prosperous Austria is inhumanely obstructive to new arrivals, without wanting to accept the kind of explosive developments that this type of domestic isolation can lead to.
(Carl Aigner)