VALIE EXPORT

Tubes hang from the ceiling. Galvanized organ pipes dangle like stalactites from above, others cast slender, pointed shadows onto the glass walls. In addition to these, smaller ones made of lead are on display on the ground floor of the Kunsthaus Bregenz. Along one wall, wooden blocks are lined up, forming a monumental relief reminiscent of Arte Povera of the 1960s and 1970s. All of the pipes come from the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, located on the Pöstlingberg in Linz, which is the birthplace of the artist.

In the entry hall, visitors enter into a massive sound structure. A group of seven musicians plays a song by Charles Mingus. The African American jazz musician composed the song in 1961, at the height of the Cold War conflicts. Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me is at once prayer and howl. The plea is repeated insistently, a mixture of fear and lament.

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