a catalogue of tender evidence

When objects are kept in safekeeping due to their fragile condition, the labour of those who care for them often remains unseen. Catherine Spet & Tobias Schützenberger interweave the absence of objects with outdated notions of conservation and the ongoing issue of "shadow work" within the field.

They reflect on whispers and sighs, on hidden stories gradually coming to light.

The spatial installation documents conservation processes undertaken by students of the Institute — processes that are rarely visible to the public, yet essential to preserving the material memory of culture.

Five objects from four Austrian museums and collections form the heart of this catalogue: each one fragile, each one cared for, each one briefly absent from the world's gaze.