Treacle (Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley)
The changing of the guard
Residency: 18 May–7 July 2013
Exhibition: 6 July–15 September 2013
project room @ aquarium
Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain
41, rue Notre Dame
(B.P. 345)
L-2013 Luxembourg
T +352 22 50 45
info [at] casino-luxembourg.lu
Press contact: presse [at] casino-luxembourg.lu
For the spring residency, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain welcomed the Treacle collective (Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley). During their stay, the artists developed the The changing of the guard project, which will take shape in various parts, and which is to be seen until 15 September 2013 at Casino Luxembourg as well as in the public area.
Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley define themselves as interventionists and performers. They specialise in art in public spaces and have a lively interest in everything that touches on interactions with the public as well as new kinds of artistic collaborations. In general, their artistic work begins by an observation phase of a given place; this is followed by an analytical dialogue in reaction to the architectural, socio-political, geographical and historical contexts.
During their seven-week stay in Luxembourg, Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley developed the project titled The changing of the guard. Although this title is borrowed from military jargon, it firstly evokes an image of a solemn changing of the guard which, in many capitals throughout the world, features among the main tourist attractions. Kudielka and Wimberley experienced the city of Luxembourg just like that: as a place where the gravity of a situation is hidden behind richly ornamented uniforms, sophisticated headwear and exuberant gestures of a changing of the guard. In the same place where soldiers from past times kept guard over the fortress, today tourists admire this landscape which resembles something from behind the scenes of a cinema. Not only is the national day celebrated here in an opulent fashion, but numerous summer events also show the city in its most favourable light. This illusion of a situation which is still stable strongly contrasts with the content of news articles covering the financial situation in Luxembourg and worrying commentaries by foreign politicians.
Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley are interested in the notion of “security” in Luxembourg. They analyse, through a series of performances, the fragility of this financial security in the same backdrop where debates and negotiations, which precisely threaten to weaken Luxembourg’s prosperity, are taking place. Is the party nearly over? Or has it not yet even begun?
In Waiting for something to happen, the artists invite you to take a seat in a waiting room, constructed to look like something from behind-the-scenes of a theatre. It is a “live art” installation in the “Aquarium” of Casino Luxembourg, taking place in collaboration with three magicians. The moment in time when the artists (or rather in this case, the magician, who follows the artists’ instructions) interact with the visitor becomes itself the work of art. You can’t be sure of what is going to happen, but the important thing is the present time.
