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CASE NO 9. MONUMENT TO CRIME

Installation, scale model, concrete, SD video, pigment prints, dimensions variable, 2015

“Case No 9. Monument to Crime” follows the topic of the most infamous abduction case in Austria – Natascha Kampusch’ case, reflecting also on the neat image of the local private houses. Austrian private houses with their gardens are so orderly and neat that they seem almost too good to be true, at the same time they are also well concealed from the looks of the outsiders. No one would ever expect anything terrifying happening behind the facades of these lovely idyllic suburban houses, this kind of environment looks completely safe. However, sometimes the facades that look the best have the worst behind them. The house where Natascha Kampusch was held, looked as any of the houses in the neighborhood.

The pedestal for the work is made of concrete – the same material which was used for the heavy door in Kampusch’ dungeon. Also in Natascha Kampusch’ case the basement was afterwards filled with concrete, so that nobody could go to the rooms she suffered in. It has a symbolic meaning – the action that was meant to erase bad memories, the space of suffering and horror, is becoming a monument for the same thing.