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In the beginning, there was Chaos and deep darkness, from which arose Gaia – Mother Earth – whose offspring was Uranos. Together they created the Titans. Kronos, the youngest and personification of time, castrated his father and ruled the world until his own son, Zeus, became therewith the highest god on Olympia. Only the Moirai – white-robed incarnations of destiny – could not be touched by him, because you can’t fight fate.
The sinister group of monk-like figures of Austrian artist Manfred Kielnhofer known as Guardians of Time are integral part of his artwork. Born in Haslach an der Mühl, Austria, he currently lives and works in Linz, Austria, where he opened the gallery „Art Park“ in 2005, the space provided by Karin and Johann Brandstetter, for whom this was the first confrontation with art and which made the genesis for their art collecting and art presenting activities that led to the foundation of AKTIONSRAUM LINkZ. The guardians can be classified as timeless and indestructible, also within the context of their material. They have been made in polyester resin, stone and bronze at various sizes and with different fabric cloaks. In recent appearance at Palazzo Mora they are presented as life-size cloth objects in polyester resin for outdoor use lighted up from inside installed LEDs.
Kielnhofer, who situated his life-size sitting or standing phantom sculptures across Europe, depicts that mankind is watched, but also protected by strange characters. In his artworks Manfred Kielnhofer also deals with the natural human desire for security. The message is, that people should never forget that they are always watched by a power, that is stronger than mankind. The sculptures are both observer and guardians of time and space, presenting a view into the past and present. According to the artists urban guerilla tactics the sculptures occupy our perception, they appear and disappear at once – such as wandering monks did. They convey a sense of immortality and theological authority to protect and enforce universal laws of existence. Like a memorial they remind us to remain vigilant about our human principles, to treat people humanely and with dignity. But human rights are in crisis. Everywhere one looks, there is violence, deprivation, and oppression, which human rights norms seem powerless to prevent. „In the figure of this sacred life, something like a bare life makes its appearance in the Western world. What is decisive, however, is that from the very beginning this sacred life has an eminently political character and exhibits an essential link with the terrain on which sovereign power is founded.“ (Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life.) The system of „Discipline and Punish“ (Michel Foucault) works with a network of digital cameras that monitor public space as fundamental interest of a surveillance state.
Text: Brigitte Swoboda