Gesten des spekulativen Geflechts

Social Media & Print Campaign

Poster series for the exhibition "Gestures of the Speculative Network". The exhibition deals with the phenomenon of the "Erdstalls". Erdstalls are artificial caves with seemingly pointless branches, extremely narrow. These types of caves are mainly found in Austria, Bavaria and France. Their purpose has not yet been clearly clarified. While the majority of researchers date their origin to the High Middle Ages and suspect places of refuge or sacred rooms there, others use a controversial dating method: This would mean that Erdstalls were formed 20,000 years ago. This circumstance raises questions: Who or what built these caves, especially since no suitable tools were available at that time. As you can see, the lack of evidence leads to conspiracy theories.

In the exhibition and the artistic works, all these perspectives are illuminated, speculation is made without losing the scientific context. What is certain is that these cave systems have an effect on people. Some scientists have also spent several days in an Erdstall to prove oxygenation. They report: Absolute darkness and silence. In it we only have ourselves and so the cave can become a psychic experience. A mirror of ourselves. Everything seems more intense. These stories were processed on the typographical level in the poster. As a further visual element, an undefined organism was used. This element refers to farfetched theories that the caves must have been created by intelligent beings. An intelligence pulsates through the darkness. An invitation to speculate.