The facade of the Old Dogana becomes part of the dynamic projection mapping “Flood”, the visual basis of which is the text of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” passed in 1948. This human rights charter of the United Nations comprises 30 articles, further agreements and protocols have been added since 1948 and are part of the “International Bill of Rights”. In “Flood” text, image and sound intertwine in an impressive way. The focus is on dealing with the articles on freedom, equality, freedom of expression, social security, education law and asylum law as well as dealing with climate change and associated topics and consequences, such as migration. The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are felt more than ever and every day. They are pushing people around the world, especially from the Global South, into increasingly precarious living conditions. The ecological challenges of the present are complex. They have social and therefore human rights components – for example, the right to access clean water was recognized as a human right by the UN General Assembly in 2010. In “Flood”, moving images of landscapes and water, but also of the consequences of the overexploitation of the earth and its Climate. Distinctive concepts that make the current state of the world comprehensible are in turn modeled from this visual pool as well as from light and shadow. The sound of “Flood” has a spatially expanding effect. The sound is a specially produced collage of texts on the subject combined with atmospheric sounds from nature and technology. The mapping is produced using a self-written program for generative graphics, in which 3D and text animations, nature shots and shots on the topics of migration, landscape, water, etc. are combined into a visual experience.

Ruth Schnell and Martin Kusch

Media artist Ruth Schnell (*1956), born in Feldkirch, lives and works in Vienna. She has been teaching at the University of Applied Arts Vienna since 1987 and has been head of the digital art class for 12 years. Her artistic work includes media environments, interactive mixed media works, robotics, public art, video sculptures, light objects, photography and video.

Martin Kusch (*1964) heads the digital performance group kondition pluriel, Montreal, and the Fulldome VR/AR Lab at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he is an associate professor. His practice focuses on media, virtual, interactive and performative installations and immersive environments.