University of Arts Linz x Ars Electronica: TIME OUT.13

• Press Text as PDF
• Photos via Flickr
• More about TIME OUT .13 and all presented artworks
• More about the Opening Event / January 14, 6:00 p.m.

(Linz, January 14, 2025) The 13th edition of the TIME OUT exhibition series opens tonight at 6:00 p.m.
at the Ars Electronica Center. On display are the works of twelve students from the department of Time-based and Interactive Media Arts at the University of Arts Linz. Two additional dance performances will accompany the opening event in Deep Space 8K.

The exhibition is curated by Ars Electronica in collaboration with the head of the department, Joachim Smetschka.

The collaboration initiated by Gerhard Funk and Gerfried Stocker under the motto “TIME OUT – Time-based and Interactive Media Arts meets Ars Electronica” has been a successful concept since 2013, offering young media artists a prominent stage. For the 13th edition, Ars Electronica and Joachim Smetschka – media artist and head of the Time-based and Interactive Media Arts department – have curated eleven innovative works by twelve students. The works will be on view at the Ars Electronica Center from January 14 through March 9, 2025.

The exhibition opening event with the participating artists will be held today from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Ars Electronica Center. As a highlight, the performances Entre deux mots and Universal Story will be presented in Deep Space 8K. Afterwards, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the works for the first time in a joint exhibition context.

What moves young media artists

Whether light, sound, film, installation or performance – experimenting is essential on the way to developing one’s own artistic signature. TIME OUT .13 is a mirror of this process:

Daniel Walter (AT) shows how imaginative animation art can be with Klaus – Special Episode, Lynn Mayya (SY) stages the dynamics of wafer-thin surfaces with [ mur mur ], and Janik Valler (DE) questions the nature of randomness with the kinetic sculpture Echoes of Ferro.

Elena Jäger (DE) uses ceramics, drawing and 3D modeling for Bare Souls, while Teo Dumitrache (RO) has created a virtual persona that can be constantly modified via an encoder. Chiara Estella Wernbacher (AT) creates an impressive optical illusion with rotating tablets. These and other works can be seen in the foyer and in the main gallery (UG -3).

TIME OUT .13 – the Projects at a Glance

Echoes of Ferro
Janik Valler (DE)

The kinetic sculpture Echoes of Ferro is an exploration of randomness: What defines a random event? Can randomness be repeated? A mechanical arm magnetically pulls up iron dust, shapes it into a drop-like form and then lets it fall back into its original form. The result is a “repetitive performance of randomness, a process between control and chaos. The system is constant, the result unique.

[ mur mur ]
Lynn Mayya (SY)

[ mur mur ] is a sound installation that makes delicate, wafer-thin
plastic surfaces dance: The work simulates the subtle dynamics of wind and
explores the interplay of sound, movement and silence. Visitors are invited to
embark on a sensual journey through space and body, and to immerse themselves
in a calming atmosphere with “white noise”.

Technical Support: Holunder Heiß

NOUMENON
Hannes Buchwieser (DE)

NOUMENON, a term associated with Immanuel Kant’s theory of knowledge, describes the intangible and incomprehensible. Hannes Buchwieser tries to get to the bottom of it, using video and sound to artistically demonstrate the smallest changes in the microcosm. The question is: What effect does ordinary glitter have on a sample of water?

Microscopic images from the Ars Electronica Center’s BioLab are shown, revealing microorganisms such as tardigrades and amoebas. It quickly becomes clear what devastating consequences the environmentally harmful glitter has on the life forms in the sample. In addition, images from the NASA archive are incorporated into the narrative to illustrate large-scale ecological changes.

Voice Acting: Julia Stang
Scientific Consultant: Dr. rer. nat. Anastasia Bragina
Technical Advisor: Matthias Langer, M.Sc. 

Klaus – Special Episode
Daniel Walter (AT)

The installation Klaus – Special Episode deals with the need to communicate personal matters publicly: The fictional character Klaus has recently emigrated to America. In his new home, Klaus tries to share his experiences with the world via a YouTube channel from his small apartment. His goal is to build a community to interact with.

Bare Souls
Elena Jäger (DE)

Bare Souls is the result of introspection: Elena Jäger was confronted with the problem of having unrealistically high expectations of the perfection of her artworks. To escape this pressure, she has chosen techniques for Bare Souls that she has had to learn and therefore has not yet mastered perfectly – including pottery, drawing and, for the first time, 3D modeling and painting. Bare Souls shows the potential of accepting “mistakes” in the process.

3D-Scans: Maxemilian van der Meer 

The Mark of Them
Mahsa Jalili (IR), Hazem Wakaf (SY)

The Mark of Them is a poetic installation that explores the depths of alienation and the fractured identity of outsiders – too Eastern for the West, too Western for the East, not belonging to neither and constantly torn between worlds. The installation invites viewers to explore the complexities of identity and belonging in a world marked by change and uncertainty.

rapidcycling
Chiara Estella Wernbacher (AT)

A thaumatrope works similarly to a flip book: a disc with images on both sides rotates so fast that the images overlap in the eyes of the viewer. Inspired by this optical illusion, Chiara Estella Wernbacher developed an installation that uses screens with animations instead of still images. Two tablets are mounted in a hollow glass cylinder with an integrated motor – the viewer determines the speed of rotation.

Persona
Teo Dumitrache (RO)

The interactive installation Persona invites viewers to reflect on the fluid and changing nature of their own identity. A screen displays a genderless, emotionless face in an unstable, ever-changing emotional world. By turning an encoder, the persona’s identity changes semi-unpredictably, accompanied by a soundscape of synchronized sound loops. The halves of the virtual persona and the melodies combine to make inner, inexpressible emotions tangible.

Waterfall III
Oleksandra Fesenko (UA)

Waterfall III is a video installation that explores themes of femininity, self-discovery, creation and destruction, and the connection to nature.

At the center of the piece is a handmade carpet, created using taffeta techniques as well as a combination of different materials such as fur and woven elements to imitate a natural, moss-like structure. Against this backdrop, the artist projects a film on the search for identity, the experience of one’s body in space, and the feeling of being part of nature.

Performer: Oleksandra Fesenko, Maryam Ibrahim
Technical Support: Holunder Heiß

What’s out there?
Sharon Nesyt (DE)

The audiovisual work What’s out there? focuses on conversations that tell of the here and now and concrete human experiences. They are thought-provoking and offer a personal insight into the reality of the artist’s life. Alongside the audio experience, Sharon Nesyt presents a painted picture that serves as a canvas for a future that is still open. Development and change are the key words.

Conversation Partners:
Yola Rentzel
Kirill Zhemchuzhnikov
Carolina Nesyt
Joana Martinez Kreuz

Obsessive Realities
Milena Stępień (PL)

The interactive installation Obsessive Realities tells the story of what it must be like to hear voices in your head telling you the worst possible future scenarios. A simple bicycle is at the center of the work, symbolizing the idea of leaving your comfort zone and riding a new bike in a new city. Recordings of what-if stories can be seen in the rear view mirror. These possible and impossible scenarios always seem to take place behind the rider’s back.

Technical Support: Teodor Dumitrache

Dance Performances at the Opening on January 14, 2025

Universal Story
Florian Klammer (AT), Naho Takeda (JP), Lynn Mayya (SY)

Universal Story depicts a hero’s journey in three chapters: Departure, Initiation and Return. It is a dance performance created in close collaboration between the dancer, the musician and the media artist.

Choreography and Dance: Naho Takeda (JP)
Visualization and Concept: Florian Klammer (AT)
Music and Sound Design: Lynn Mayya (SY)

Entre deux mots
Cécile Bucher (CH), Jung In Lee (KR/AT), Carlotta Borcherding (DE), Seojin Moon (KR), Minchae Kim (KR)

Entre deux mots is an audiovisual and immersive dance piece developed by five students for Deep Space 8K. The work explores the floating, immaterial space between words – the silence, the breath, the moment of suspension and all the elements that cannot be captured in language.

Visualization: Cecile Bucher (CH)
Choreography: Jung In Lee (KR)
Choreographic Assistant: Seojin Moon (KR)
Sound Design: Carlotta Borcherding (DE)
Costume Design: Minchae Kim (KR)
Special thanks to Joachim Smetschka

Statements

“We are very pleased that students from the Bachelor’s program Time-based and Interactive Media Arts are presenting their works at the TIME OUT.13 exhibition at the Ars Electronica Center, and that their artworks will be on view at one of the most prominent venues for media art. This gives young artists the opportunity not only to gain valuable experience with an international audience, but also to network in the best possible way. Our special thanks go to the Ars Electronica Center for the many years of cooperation that have culminated in this presentation for the 13th time.”

Brigitte Hütter, Rector of the University of Arts Linz

“With the 13th edition of the TIME OUT exhibition series, we cover a wide range and show many facets of contemporary media art – from dance performances in Deep Space 8K, video installations, kinetic sculptures and material experiments to very personal themes, questions and insights into the lives of young artists from nine nations. The diversity of our course is matched by the diversity of the working methods, experiments and themes we present. The collaboration with the Ars Electronica Center is a valuable enrichment for our art studies and broadens our horizons. We would like to thank the highly motivated Ars Electronica team for the invitation and for their support in the realization and design of this exhibition.”

Joachim Smetschka, Head of Time-based and Interactive Media Arts at the University of Arts Linz

“For the 13th time, the TIME OUT series is presenting impressive works by emerging artists that demonstrate in a variety of ways how personal emotions, system-critical themes or the sheer joy of creative work can find artistic expression. This collaboration with the University of Arts Linz once again brings inspiring film works, interactive installations, material studies and mechanical-artistic experiments to the Ars Electronica Center, opening up new perspectives to a broad audience.”

Gerfried Stocker, Artistic Director Ars Electronica