Hannes Langeder: Ferdinand GT3 RS

“Das letzte gebaute Auto wird ein Porsche sein.” [The last car to be built will be a Porsche] (Ferry Porsche)

Plastic pipes and duct tape – these are the almost spectacularly unsophisticated materials that Hannes Langeder uses for the creation of his civilizational aliens. Artworks that double as objects for everyday use, his bicycle constructions are prone to leave a trail of confusion in their wake in an urban ambience. Not content with reversing the way art is traditionally accessed – after all, here the artwork seeks out the spectator and turns its back on the museum to prowl the streets – these mobile sculptures also re-interpret the alleged achievements of our civilization: as far as Langeder’s modified bicycles are concerned, locomotion is governed by the principles of deceleration and ecologically sustainable mobility. Each one of them combines creative process, societal and/​or ecological statement and road usability.

“Erzherzog Ferdinand” is one of Langeder’s most spectacular large-scale objects: a Porsche 911, recreated from plastic tubes and duct tape on a bicycle chassis. It exudes acceleration and raw power, yet for all this it is utterly dependent for speed on the pedalling of its driver. The Porsche, otherwise synonymous with speed and superlative mobility, is literally seen to be no more than an empty shell.

Artist: Hannes Langeder, Curator: Magnus Hofmüller