an art gallery of emotions for & by the community.
The site chosen for the installation is the currently unused green space next to the route of the U6 underground line, which in this part is running elevated on the historic city railway arches designed by architect Otto Wagner.The underlying metaphor for the project is being alone and anonymous in a big city, but here getting a chance to be part of a communal effort.
Especially during the pandemic, people feel emotionally isolated. While in the countryside families often live in shared and more spacious households, city people often have rather cramped space for themselves and their families or live in small single flats, which completely eliminates contact with other people during the pandemic.
Sharing feelings is a deeply human need. It allows us to see that we are not alone in our feelings. It also gives our feelings legitimacy.
The installation makes this possible by providing translucent plexiglass arches that exactly match the iconic round arches of the Stadtbahn. On the upper part of the arches, passers-by are asked about their feelings: What makes you happy? What makes you sad? What makes you proud? Passers-by are invited to leave their message on the plexiglass with pens provided and to read the messages of their fellow city citizens.
