What does laziness within a society reveal? If it’s tolerated, what is the supportive network behind, is it perceived as a privilege or a disorder?
Some days before the show, I came across this postcard. It was on sale in a souvenir shop close to the studio, in the Prater. In it, a cat stretched over the cityscape from a hammock - visibly after a nap-.
Besides the crushing cuteness of the image, I couldn’t help thinking of Paul Lafargue’s 1883 text “The right to be Lazy”. A pioneer in considering leisure as a right, as essential as housing, and to be protected by the state.
This related to the interested I’ve been carry during the past months, documenting the Gemeindewohnungen buildings in the city of Vienna. Unlike many other cities that would separate modest buildings from the center of the city, the “Wohnhaus der Gemeinde Wien” are present in every neighborhood. Built since the late 1920s, they echo the socialist policies of Austria’s first republic, following a policy that continues to our days. Every building features at least one artistic intervention. Mostly outdoor murals, mosaics, and reliefs. They depict historical scenes, family or worker’s allegories, and many leisure moments, like pastoral scenes with animals. Fascinated by the esthetics, the wit, and their compulsory presence in urban planning, I decided to capture as many as possible with my smartphone.
The paintings that conform “Lazy days in Vienna” purposely reference these decorative pieces. They, echo the city’s heritage, and my optimism facing an imminent summer. In this modular large scale paintings, a hammock is used as an stencil, leaving a white silhouette of its presence after being removed.
Unlike the ceramic tiles they mimic, their execution is fast, they’re executed in lightweight cardboards. In that sense, they relate more to the nomadism of a hammock than to permanent commissions: once dismantled, can be easily fit back into a smaller pack, ready to be transported somewhere else.
“Lazy Days in Vienna” is an exhibition project that marks the end of the residency period hosted by Akademie der Bildenden Künste Vienna, supported by the ASA Program and Beaux-arts de Paris.
All artworks and images by Javier Carro Temboury, 2022.
Instagram @temboury / website www.carrotemboury.eu
