HELLO, WE ARE FREE TO RETRIEVE OUR SPACE!

For Olivia Wiederkehr, the world around us consists of many different spaces that are closely interconnected. Her works are thus both space-consuming and space-creating. This is also evident in one of her projects entitled "Hello, we are free to reclaim our space," which was created in 2022 in collaboration with the inclusive theatre HORA. In it, tents functioned as places of retreat that we need to protect ourselves in and from the world. During a workshop, the actors of the HORA Theatre wrote their thoughts on the inside of the tents. In this way, the space was appropriated and the anonymous tents became intimate places. Later, the tents were exhibited at the Aargauer Kunsthaus. They thus left their protected space and were distributed in the most unusual places in the building to stand in the way of visitors. The work confronted and at the same time invited visitors to enter the protective spaces and read the texts. Wiederkehr and the HORA Theatre effectively reclaimed the space. A space to express experiences and desires and to view art from a different perspective. Wiederkehr won the jury prize at the Aargauer Jahresausstellung for this work.