Invitation to the film screening “Esiod 2015” by Clemens von Wedemeyer and subsequent artist talk with Bert Rebhandl.

“Esiod 2015” is an Art in Architecture project at Erste Campus and will be shown annually at the Erste Campus until 2051, following the concept of the artist.

Clemens von Wedemeyer has made the Erste Campus the centerpiece of a film. “Esiod 2015” tells of a young woman who in 2051 returns to Vienna in order to close her bank account. Stored on the account is not just money, however, but also memories and digitized personal information. When the computer system fails to recognize the young woman, she is obliged to undergo a “memory check”. Retaining its sci-fi format throughout, “Esiod 2015” addresses the complexity of contemporary structures defined by digital technology and economics.

Interwoven with the story of the bank customer are the architectural plans of the Erste Campus and the as yet unfinished bank building, as well as references to other “art in architecture” projects. Torn between the virtual world and the real world, the film adds a future dimension to the artistic projects undertaken at the Erste Campus. “Esiod 2015”, explains Clemens von Wedemeyer, is an imagined version of the present. It “plays in a parallel future–a future that is already here”. It reveals how technological networks and infrastructure are accelerating the present and how this is having a lasting and transformative influence on society. The film ends with a message from the future that is already present: “Please listen to me. The images you are about to see are a warning. I am speaking from the future”.

Clemens von Wedemeyer lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig. His films and film installations were shown at documenta 13 in Kassel and in various biennials. Most recently he was represented with a solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Hamburg.

Bert Rebhandl lives as a freelance journalist, author and translator in Berlin. His texts appear among others in the FAZ, the standard and tip u.v.a. He is co-editor of the journal CARGO Film Medien Kultur.