introduction
The Institute of Lost Memories and Small Moments was created for Ersatzverkehr/Urban Lies‘ Sphären Versammlung, which was premiered at the Donau Festival in Krems in April 2007.
While the other artists in the Sphären Versammlung were in the basement bar of the Parkhotel in Krems on the festival main site, we were in Room 107, two floors above, taking two people at a time through the process of archiving memories and moments in the Institute.
We set ourselves the task of creating a memory palace in the room, a mnemonic space that acted as a prompt for us to recall the memories and small moments deposited there. A hotel room is a particularly apt site for this project as the transient nature of its occupancy juxtaposes the fixed state of its furnishings. Hotel rooms are host to countless small moments and lost memories while looking outwardly the same for every guest.
There was a camera in room 107 with a live video link to a monitor in the basement where the audience of the Sphären Versammlung could see glimpses of what was happening above.