EMPTY TIME
Our society attaches no value to empty time, i.e. time in which nothing meaningful seems to be done and in which we are not considered productive. We have to constantly function and self-optimize, while at the same time exposing ourselves to a limitless and ever faster flow of information. The farming families in the Bschlabertal valley have not known empty time in recent centuries. It was only with the onset of mechanization, mobility, gainful employment and the accompanying emigration in the second half of the last century that the valley became increasingly empty - as people left their homes, gave up traditional work and communication spaces and saved working hours that were once essential for survival. Art has always represented a border zone in life that invites chance, decay and emptiness. Exposure to empty time can become a source of inspiration. Becoming empty can mean: letting go, interrupting, objecting, dissolving, turning back. Empty time can be understood as a suspension of work in order to try out a different everyday life, or a suspension of everyday life in order to try out a different work. Can empty time open up a space of possibility to try out new forms of (care, art, etc.) activities and ways of relating? Can empty time do without a goal? Hasn't empty time always been full of fragments of our human history? How can empty time and empty space in the Bschlab Valley correspond with each other? And am I personally afraid of empty time? You can find more on this topic at https://medienfrische.com/leere-zeit/