Design of the Anonymous |
by
Joanna Zabielska
Opening Performanceartistic director: Joanna Zabielska
performer: Verena Herterich
sound: Zosia Hołubowska
story: Claudia Strate
VR: Joanna Zabielska
video documentation: Sebastian Kraner
supported by: MA7, KÖR Wien, bmkoes, basis.kultur.wien, Impulstanz, Das LOT
Photo credits: © Sebastian Kraner
The red-white-blue bag has become a symbol of migration, carrying with it the hopes, dreams, and uncertainties of those who leave their home country for various reasons. Known worldwide under different names, for many it is also associated with the fall of the Soviet Union, war, broken lives, and economic collapse. Others connect it with shopping at nearby markets or bazaars, informal economies, cross-border trading, and the struggle to make a living. More recently, it has been co-opted by the luxury fashion industry.
“Design of the Anonymous” is a performative and spatial project exploring home, belonging, and shared narratives. An immersive AV installation becomes a physical and digital walk-in environment where people can engage with objects, materials, bodies, and narratives. A performer, wearing a garment made out of bags, leads the audience with her gaze into a speculative VR world based on performances that took place in Vienna's newly built neighborhood, Aspern Seestadt in 2024. Stitched-together bags form a garment-like third skin. The stories they carry are projected, giving voice to people who have already moved on.