Autriche, Vienne – “THE HAUNTOLOGICAL CONGRESS”

The Hauntological Congress: Performance Simon Mayer/Corine Sombrun: “Voice Trance Ghost Dance”

Hauntology, the study of spooks and visitations, looks for things in the presence that exist or do not yet exist, for those unachieved potentials and unfulfilled hopes that make ghosts walk the earth. In this project, defined as a mix of straightforward congress, séance and film shoot, theorists and artists meet to talk about – and with – spirits. Hamlet’s ghost will be there, and the spectre of communism has also been invited. The title comes from the concept of hauntology, which was developed by Jacques Derrida in his book „Spectres de Marx“. Basically  it is about the need to remember the ones not living anymore (and the ones not yet born) in times that are, as Hamlet put it, out of joint. In these times, Derrida suggests, spectres of the past and of the future might be a source of hope and a chance to go beyond the boundaries of our present world.

Brut – Karlsplatz 5 , 1010 Vienna, Austria