IG-Verlust (The International Loss Association)

IG-Verlust is a discursive art and exhibition format designed by artist duo hoelb/hoeb that deals with forms of expression and representation of empathy, grief and loss. The basis for the artistic work of hoelb/hoeb is the close collaboration with experts from the fields of religious counselling, hospices, funeral homes, grief counselling and philosophy. In various workshops, part public, part closed, hoelb/hoeb devise artistic experimental designs, dramaturgies and models testing new forms of social encounter, solidarity and dealing with grief, exploring current social rituals of solidarity and inclusion. In February, the artist duo will take to brut at Raumlabor and give a lecture performance presenting the workshop results and discussing them in an open forum.

The artistic/scientific work of hoelb/hoeb is found at the intersection between visual art, daily practice and performance. For quite some time, their main focus has been on the issues of diversity, inclusion, loss, grief and death. As a result, the two artists have established the IG-Verlust or Internationale Gesellschaft für Verlust (International Loss Association), which they presented earlier this year in their project entitled LOST_INN.staging grief. The IG-Verlust is a body of several individuals, including the artists themselves and experts in the fields of cultural theory, spiritual counselling, palliative care, grief counselling, science and art. Together, they use the IG-Verlust to deal with both artistic and social coping strategies for people experiencing grief and loss.

The IG-Verlust project began in September 2017 with a performance installation at Rathausplatz in co-operation with Protestant counsellors that dealt with their work in hospitals, prisons, the military and nursing care. A workshop spanning several days in October 2017 explored the issues of “care, vulnerability, empathy”. In December 2017, an event focussed on “humanitarian approaches” and took place in co-operation with prison counsellors from the Josefstadt detention facility. The fourth and final act of the project series will be a lecture performance and installation at brut, where the workshop results are discussed in an open forum, in which participants and companions will take a stand while film and audio documents from the research phase are shown.

Please reserve your tickets here: tickets@brut-wien.at