02 – Vanessa Hafenbrädl »No Flag«

“No Flag” is an audiovisual installation in which a video is projected onto flowing fabric, creating space for the stories of women, both historical and contemporary. The flowing fabric disarms the martial nature of the flag and transforms it into a poetic space for the feminine, the free and the emancipatory. The work refers to the reformers around the turn of the century in Bavaria, whose often invisible educational, social and cultural work laid the foundations for democratic participation. In the audio collage and performance by Anna McCarthy and Maribel Dente, texts, voices and sound combine to create a polyphonic space of memory.

Vanessa Hafenbrädl questions female archetypes and breaks with conventional role models. Her work liberates itself from categories, origins, gender and species. Vanessa Hafenbrädl creates immersive installations using video mapping, glass, music and storytelling. Her installations combine local references with contemporary discourses and convey socio-political themes in an emotionally intense and subtle way. Her work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Tassilo Prize from the Süddeutsche Zeitung for her poetic visual narratives. Most recently, the artist was featured in the publication ‘Collected Light Volume Two’ by Women in Lighting, which presents women in light art internationally.

Sound: Anna McCarthy, Haiyti & Tbilisi Women’s Choir/Composition by Ioseb Kechakmadze (GEO). With expert support from the Monacensia in the Hildebrandhaus.