This solo exhibition by Austrian artist Ines Doujak, titled 'Geistervölker' (Ghost Populations), delves into the histories of pandemics, viral transmission, and their connections to global trade and contemporary crises. The exhibition examines the economic, microbiological, and ecological impacts, linking historical pandemics to the extractive logic of global capitalism.
Kunsthalle Wien presents 'Geistervölker' ('Ghost Populations'), a comprehensive solo exhibition by Austrian artist Ines Doujak, focusing on the interconnectedness of pandemics, viral transmission, and global economic systems. The exhibition critically examines how colonial legal mechanisms and late capitalism have facilitated the extraction of resources, contributing to historical and ongoing crises.
Doujak's multidisciplinary practice, which spans photography, performance, film, and installation, utilizes political theory and tangible objects to deconstruct sexist and racist stereotypes and expose exploitative structures. For 'Geistervölker,' she combines new and existing projects to conceptualize the perpetual cycle of capital accumulation and the Earth's diminishing capacity to sustain unending extraction. The displayed works, including textiles, videos, papier-mâché sculptures, and installations, narrate the story connecting global production and consumption chains, pandemics, and recurring patterns of disease spread throughout history.
The exhibition is further complemented by a series of live performances and 'Transmission: A series of five Podcasts on Disease and Pandemics in a Distorted World (2021),' a project with John Barker. These podcasts delve into timely topics such as factory farming and healthcare speculation, exploring the relationship between disease and trade routes.