“Men should kiss men instead of killing them”
The installation Still Life by the artist Siggi Hofer, exhibited at the Secession until June 12, is not as innocent as its pastel colors might suggest.
Siggi Hofer, Still Life, Ausstellungsansicht, Secession 2022 /// Foto: Michael Strasser (c)
A seemingly innocent journey back into lighter, brighter and better days: childhood. Pastel colors all around, wooden blocks that look like they had just been played with, intricate mobiles, colorful pictures innocently hanging on beaded strings like ones a child had gifted their parent on Mother's Day. This describes the push into the pools of nostalgia one might get when first coming across Siggi Hofer's Still Life.
The immersive installation currently shown at the Secession in Vienna is a multi-element artwork. Its literal building blocks are pastel-colored pieces of wood scattered around the brightly lit Main Room of the Secession. Some of them are lying on top of one another at random, as if they had just been tossed together; others are hanging from the ceiling on wires decorated with wooden beads. Some of the blocks are stacked neatly on top of each other to create a white table, displaying two "newspapers" crowned with the same title as the installation.
One of these issues features an illustration of a close-up view of a blue eye with an intense stare, seeming to want to bring attention to the quote above it: Men should kiss men instead of killing them. The other newspaper issue shows an eagle on its front page that sparks patriotic, perhaps even nationalistic associations in a viewer's head. The titles are written in a distinct Gothic font, which is reminiscent of the newspaper Dolomiten, which Hofer was an avid reader of in his childhood, serving as another nostalgic element of the artwork.
In between the parts of the installation that feature the pastel-colored blocks, other elements of Still Life can be discovered, like working tables looking like they might just belong to an architect, industrial designer or other creative, seemingly inviting the viewer to participate in the process of creation. These tables also act as a performative extension of the installation: the artist regularly creates new elements to add to the mixture at these very working stations.
Siggi Hofer, Still Life, Ausstellungsansicht, Secession 2022, Foto: Michael Strasser (c)
Another corner of the room features several big framed pictures displaying intricate cityscapes. The giant mazes also include striking elements in the form of big knives in the places you would typically expect to see skyscrapers. Is the artist hinting at humans as a race slowly destroying our planet with industrial and capitalistic development? In front of the cityscapes, more panels hanging from the ceiling can be found, this time showing faceless, suited men. Are these the catalysts of the slow downfall of our planet, wanting to remain anonymous?
This complex artwork seems to be an attempt at highlighting the contrastual nature of human existence. The left side of the room, filled with images of butterflies, flowers, and birds, seems to have a soft, feminine energy. While the other side of the room shares elements like the medium itself, the images of the faceless male leaders combined with illustrations of eagles have almost the exact opposite energy: harsh, soulless, nationalistic, male: a confrontation possibly trying to hint at the harm of the patriarchal structures so present in our global society. The room seems to be an attempt at a possible unification of opposite energies through their placement in a shared space. While the installation appears harmonious at first glance, with every step deeper into the layers of this piece, a chaotic, almost disturbing energy seems to cloud one's mind. The eyes wander, and our attention is consistently diverted from one part of the installation to the other, hardly finding any rest.
Siggi Hofer, Drum 4, 2021, Lackfarbe auf MDF, 70 x 70 cm, Foto: Michael Strasser (c)
Still Life by Siggi Hofer has a nostalgic effect, with corners of losing one's innocence. Hofer doesn't seem to be telling his own story, but is rather telling the tale of the development of an undefined person's being. It let’s our minds wander from the peaceful hands of nature to the harsh reality of the big city and reflects on the human experience existing in the inescapable bubble of society with all its values.