STWST48x9 / we_choose_happiness

T(n)C
we choose happiness

Installation
STWST 2. Floor
Continuous

we choose happiness is composed of several works by the artist duo T(n)C.

In the four-part video work Retraining Laziness, humans and machines are in competition with each other. In an effort to constantly improve themselves in order to stay relevant and benefit the society they belong to, they are in a mode of self-exploitation. They work because they can, not because they have to. But due to an anomaly, a robot leaves the assembly lines to explore an idle and self-determined existence. The short film series follows a conversation between a human worker and a non-functional robot as they discuss unhealthy production conditions and their own relationship to work and time.

The image series Days (light box) highlights the ambivalent relationship that society has developed with picturesque places on this planet. The exaggerated images reflect both the fascination with paradisiacal landscapes and the effects of their consumption on them.

Under the Walnut Tree is a series of burnt and melted Monobloc chairs. Flowing threads drip onto the floor, blackened plastic forms encrusted bubbles and the white architecture collapses. The once functional object and symbol of modern mass production, which can be found on exotic beaches as well as on small balconies on the tenth floor, undergoes a transformation. The twisted and intricate sculptures tell of leisure, transience, destruction and influence. Heat remains a passive element in this work.

T(n)C was founded in 2017 by Agnes Varnai and Tina Kult. They live and work in Vienna and experiment with a wide range of media, including virtual reality, 3D, installation, sculpture and film. By combining the different disciplines, they explore immersive experiences to connect the digital and physical levels of reality.The collective's works have been exhibited at various venues, such as Kunstraum Niederösterreich (AT), projectcell36 (AT), WIENWOCHE (AT) or Art+Text (HU). They were also part of the Vienna Design Week (AT), the Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (FR, DE) and the re;publica festival in Berlin (DE). In 2022 they participated in the European Media Art Platform Residency Program at FACT in Liverpool.

Retraining Laziness was realized in the framework of a European Media Art Platform Residency Program at FACT, Liverpool with the support of the Creative Europe Cultural Program of the European Union and the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES).

Concept and realization: T(n)C
Sound: M T Hall
Voices: Aila Ben Franken, Caroline Baas
Voice recording: Daniel Bucher
Additional 3D and animation: Péter Várnai
3D scan / puppet: Chris Harrison
Text and graphic support: Sebastian Grande, Ráhel Anna Molnár
Thanks to: Benedikt Scheitnagl

DOCUMENTATION