Following an initiative and search by City Councilor Sandra Frauenberger, Victoria Hindley’s installation “SHE IS not in need of labels” has been selected for installation at the Kubus EXPORT at Lerchenfelder Gürtel. It will run from 23 October until 31 December 2010.
VALIE EXPORT’s glass cube is the venue for the installation, in tandem with Ms. EXPORT’s 70 year anniversary and her retrospective art exhibitions throughout Austria.
“I consider Hindley’s concept an accomplished artistic approach to breaking-up stereotypes, and an excellent impulse for feminist reflection” said City Councilor Frauneberger. The installation “SHE IS not in need of labels” addresses issues of representation and appropriation, while probing the relationship between projection and transparency. Specifically, it addresses the stereotypes and clichés projected on women. A mirroring foil casts back the gaze to the viewer and the environment (one filled with media representations), pointing a way towards autonomy. Questions such as “Who attributes? and “With what motivation?” are revealed. While the transparent letters allow for fluid, unfettered vision. “This work is encouraging. It asks of us not to let ourselves be determined by stereotypical projections, and instead to unmask them as constructions and conjectures made by others,” Frauenberger said.
“VALIE EXPORT’s permanent glass installation sends a powerful signal. This ambitious project has been a successful appropriation of urban space by women.” Frauenberger said. The Kubus EXPORT – a transparent space located on Vienna’s Gürtel — was created in 2001 as part of a larger project conducted by the women’s department of the city of Vienna.
Curated by Beatrix Zobl
“SHE IS not in need of labels” by Victoria Hindley can be seen at Kubus EXPORT until end of December 2010. In January 2011 the Kubus will be put to use by its “creator”, VALIE EXPORT.