Projektion auf die Krise (Gauweilereien in München)

»And when they were dead you missed them, but somehow you missed them even before they were dead«.

In his video installation Projektion auf die Krise (Gauweilereien in München)
[Projection on the crisis (Gauweilereien in München)] Philip Gufler reawakens the controversial documentation of AIDS-politics in Munich in the 1980s. Just like in an exhibition, I follow the camera past a collection of newspaper articles, posters and photos. These are press commentaries about the AIDS crisis, which have been complemented by artistic works by him and by other artists. The camera stops time after time at projected interviews with politicians or persons affected, zooms in. This turns pictures and direct quotes, all at various unconnected levels, into a dialogue. Sometimes I hear the artist whispering beside my ear or I recognise his blurred reflection in shiny objects, so that he himself seems to be a part of his work and the dialogue. Projections of his own artwork on the documented media make a comment on the countercultural movements of that time. Despite the neutral portrayal of the archive, the flood of media seems to be alarmingly close. The presence of the crisis is successfully implemented by the genuine way the media response of the 1980s is reproduced.

Only with the final words I do return to the present: »...and on 22 November 2013 Gauweiler was elected as deputy vice-chairman of the party. His comeback was celebrated and not a word was spoken about his earlier AIDSand moral-crusader politics«. (Juliane Guder)

*We can only show an excerpt of this work in the online archive. For the complete version, please contact the artist.