T(here)

In this dimensional photographic collage, I have engaged with gleaned networked images that relate both to the Austrian-Hungarian borders and different aspects of migration from and through the county of Burgenland next to self-generated images and clips that I had collected on my phone in Nov/Dec 2016. Migration both economically and politically motivated is part of this region’s history and many of the inhabitants speak not only German but also Hungarian and Croatian. Due to being a mostly rural area and the practice to split inherited land between siblings many have emigrated to the United States. There are 45 000 people from the Burgenland in Chicago alone which is three times the amount of people that live in Eisenstadt, its capital. Yet the county and its inhabitants have not only raised to the challenges of keeping an identity despite this vast population drain but also helped consistently refugees crossing its boarders. The last time was 2015 where between September and December roughly a million Syrians sought temporary refuge. This made me want to know more about this region and its inhabitants. Having never been there myself even though I am Austrian, I decided to explore what understanding might be gained from consulting Google Search Engine and how this quest might intersect with the shifting boundaries of my everyday life.

non_equivalents is an element of my doctoral thesis Digital Porosity and its Impact on the Mediation of Networked Images (2020), University of Plymouth.

Length: 7’56”