A collage of impressive dimensions is being created on the façade of Montforthaus in Feldkirch. The work revolves around a comparison of illusion and reality, which draws a catastrophic balance of the present in poetic images.

“Flood” was performed for the first time in 2022 as part of “Spotlight“, the second format of the biennial light art festival “Lichtstadt Feldkirch”. The impressive projection mapping took place on the façade of Alte Dogana in Feldkirch.

The façade of the Montforthaus will be part of the dynamic projection mapping “Flood”, which was first presented in 2022 as part of “Spotlight” and can now be experienced in an adapted form at “Lichtstadt Feldkirch” 2023. The visual basis of the mapping is the text of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” adopted in 1948. This Charter of Human Rights of the United Nations comprises 30 articles; further agreements and protocols have been added since 1948 and form the “International Bill of Rights”.

Writing, image and sound intertwine in an impressive way in the artistic work. The focus is on the articles on freedom, equality, freedom of expression, social security, the right to education and the right to asylum, as well as on climate change and the associated issues and consequences, such as migration. The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are felt more than ever and on a daily basis. They are pushing people worldwide, especially from the Global South, into increasingly precarious living conditions. The ecological challenges of the present are complex. They have social and thus human rights components – for example, the right to access to clean water was recognised 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, emerge from the letters and words that address both the valid version of human rights and their most virulent extensions with regard to climate change. Striking concepts that make the current state of the world comprehensible are in turn modelled from this visual fund 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 theme combined with atmospheric sounds from nature and technology.

The mapping is produced with the help of a self-written programme for generative graphics, in which 3D and text animations, nature shots and recordings on the themes of migration, landscape, water etc. are combined to create a visual experience.

Born in Feldkirch, media artist Ruth Schnell (*1956) lives and works in Vienna. She has taught at the University of Applied Arts Vienna since 1987 and has headed the Digital Art class for 12 years. Her artistic work includes media environments, interactive mixed media works, robotics, art in public space, video sculptures, light objects, photography and video.

Martin Kusch (*1964) directs 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.

Concept, idea, realisation: Ruth Schnell and Martin Kusch (kondition pluriel)
Programming: Johannes Hucek
3D Modelling / Animation: Malte Niedringhaus
Image research: Thomas Hochwallner
Sound production: Alexandre St-Onge