Dextro Energy
28.08. – 31.10.2024 • SEE:UA • Notgalerie Wien Seestadt
Anna Lorenzana & Kaleb Christian
Wien Seestadt is described as one of the most ambitious urban development projects in Europe and is being realised on over 240 hectares in Vienna’s 22nd district.
The masterplan, which was approved by the city council in 2007, pursues goals such as modern, sustainable living spaces and energy-efficient urban development. However, despite these progressive goals, the project has been met with much criticism. It is located in an environment that continues to be characterised by massive construction sites and advancing urbanisation, which, despite an ‘artificial’ lake and multiple green spaces, has become increasingly hotter due to vast areas of concrete and gravel, especially in the year of realisation, 2024.
The artwork “Dextro Energy” is integrated into this critical context. The work refers to experiences from the Canadian tar sands mining areas around Fort McMurray, where massive geometric piles of sulphur are stacked within the landscape, a byproduct of the irresponsible and excessive removal of bitumen for the synthesis of crude oil. Dextro Energy tablets, which claim increased energy and performance enhancement, parallels the hyper-capitalist vision of purified resource extraction while ignoring the damaging effects on health and environment, with both substances leeching into the complex neural and natural networks that determine ecological wellbeing.
The planned installation will incorporate sulfur yellow replicas of Dextro Energy tablets within the still yet to be constructed landscapes of Seestadt. This deliberate use of symbolism draws attention to the contradictory aspects of the project: On the one hand, a sustainable, modern city is being marketed as the ideal urban future, while on the other hand, the real environmental impact of constant expansion and the intensive use of resources threatens to topple the already precarious balance of its visionary image. The temporary nature of the art installation reflects the provisional and often superficial nature of urban developments which, despite their progressive façade, conceal deeper ecological and social problems.
In this field of tension between idealised urban planning and the often neglected ecological consequences, the artwork becomes a critical commentary on the reality of urban development and the role it plays in the global context of the environmental and resource crisis.
Measurements
40 x 40 x 6 cm
Material
Plaster, Sulfur Yellow Paint