During the Cultural Capital Year, the Landungsplatz Train Station in Ebensee will derail, transforming into a realm of tangible, self-determined imagination. A resounding invitation to all – and especially to children and their adults, vogelfrei encourages its guests to invent birds and other flying creatures while resisting their extinction. The artist duo Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger initiate a spatial narrative from a bird’s-eye view – a wondrous beginning with an open-ended outcome. Their installation provides space up to the ceiling for fantastical beings to be discovered. created and built on-site.
A wild decoy bird world grows with: cunning turtledoves and bashful vultures, organized chickens and enamored dragons, cockatoos, hummingbirds and cheeky finches, icy siskins, hungry smacks, award-winning goldfinches, fantastic crossbills, great tits, and Salzkammergut swallows, impatient alpine parrots, lavender swans, well-traveled gallows birds and generous magpies, zizibes and birigoes,
excited nest sitters and extravagant fledglings, bird droppings, seductive egg dances, and as-yet-undiscovered swarms.
The former restaurant is transformed into a hub of anarchic ornithological diversity. Its final appearance remains uncertain. There is great curiosity about the unbridled inspirations of its visitors. A vibrant, interactive installation created from an extensive selection of found materials, inviting wonder and encouraging experimentation. Those who want birds need courage for the wild.
