The wonderful world of absence
monochrom's Zeigerpointer

'The wonderful world of absence' presents monochrom's collection of so-called 'Zeigerpointers'.

Until an official term for the media phenomenon 'Zeigerpointer' has been found, this place holder describes a widespread form of representation used by the print media. This has until now neither been perceived nor defined as a specific form. With the collection (www.monochrom.at/zeigerpointer) and the sequence of images 'Zeigerpointer', monochrom wants to contribute to the examination of the 'Zeigerpointer' as a category of representational aesthetics. 

The 'Zeigerpointer' is defined as images (in the scope of printed media reporting) of crime scenes, locations of accidents as well as other locations in which some kind of thing has happened that can no longer be seen because the reported happening is already over and no traces are visible (either because none were produced or because they were already removed during the reinstatement of the status quo). Because in these cases there is nothing to take a picture of, the photo journalist generally asks certain people – eyewitnesses, concerned parties or somebody in charge – to point to the spot where 'it' happened. 'Zeigerpointers' can unambiguously be defined with a couple of criteria they have to fulfil and therefore distinguish them from other pictures of people pointing at something. The reported event must not be visible through any other means than the pointing at the spot where 'it' happened. 

monochrom has been collecting such images for several years in the form of newspaper clippings (which ideally should also contain the captions), at first from Austrian print media, later some international exhibits were also added. They are published on their website (after diligently ascertaining their validity) and in the form of e-mailings and word of mouth we regularly call for entries. 

With the project 'The wonderful world of absence' monochrom wants to present the findings of this media-cultural archaeology to the public for the first time, also changing the media, in the form of an exhibition. The exhibits will be selected examples painted in oil. 

monochromov gala show

monochrom is a worldwide operating collective dealing with technology, art, context hacking and philosophy and was founded in 1993.

monochrom call themselves an "unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism." And that means they try to find the perfect medium and setting to spread messages - the search for the best Weapon of Mass Distribution of an idea.

monochrom has released a leftist retro-gaming project, established a 1 baud semaphore line through the streets of San Francisco, started an illegal space race through Los Angeles, buried people alive in Vancouver, and cracked the hierarchies of the art system with The Thomann Project. In Austria they ate blood sausages made from their own blood in order to criticize the grotesque neoliberal formation of the world economy. Sometimes they compose melancholic pop songs about dying media and host the first annual conference an sex and technology. Also they do international soul trade, neo-marxist puppet theatre, space sit-coms, and -- sorry to mention -- modern dance.

monochrom's medley at Aksioma Project Space is a little tour-de-farce about their projects and political motivation. An entertaining gala show about good clean fanaticism, crisis, language, culture, self-content, identity, utopia, mania and despair. Powernapping highly welcome.