JANUS
With JANUS, artist and researcher Katrin Hornek (Site-Specific
Art, University of Applied Arts Vienna) and choreographer and performer Karin Pauer explore the complexities
of the Atomic Age, tracing its cultural and political legacies alongside its contemporary dynamics.
The
performance was developed specifically for the Belvedere 21—a building of historical significance initially conceived as the
Austrian Pavilion for Expo 1958 in Brussels. A key theme of this first post–World War II World’s Fair was the “peaceful use
of nuclear power,” manifested not only in the exhibits of numerous national pavilions but also in the radical proposal to
power the fair itself with an on-site nuclear reactor. Its cooling water was intended to irrigate the gardens of the so-called
colonial section.
JANUS juxtaposes the era’s exuberant optimism toward nuclear energy with the discovery
of radionuclides in Vienna—remnants of atmospheric atomic bomb tests conducted during the same period. Belvedere 21 thus transforms
into a living narrator, where polyphonic, embodied knowledge intersects with geological traces and geopolitical nuclear narratives.
In this performance, celebratory, energetic, resistant, dissolving, and reassembling bodies intertwine in a condensed,
multi-sensory exploration of what it means to live in the nuclear Anthropocene. Hornek and Pauer create an immersive, physically
experiential space for collective reflection on the traces of atomic science in bodies, plants, soils, and waterways. Through
movement, sound, and collected voices, they negotiate the unprecedented alliance between technology, the military, and science—from
the first atomic tests to the nuclear industry’s renaissance unfolding today.
Curator: Christiane Erharter
JANUS is part of an interdisciplinary research project that builds on Katrin Hornek’s earlier project The Anthropocene
Surge (2019–24, in collaboration with Michael Wagreich) and the exhibition testing grounds (at the Secession,
March 8 – June 2, 2024, in collaboration with Karin Pauer, Sabina Holzer, and Zosia Hołubowska). The aim is to bring scientific
knowledge into the public sphere and to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. As part of JANUS, the artists have engaged
in collaborative research encounters with invited experts from various disciplines, in an effort to transcend academic boundaries
and create an “embodied archive” that serves as the foundation of the performance.
28. May 5 pm - 7 pm
Exploratory tour: VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator)
During this tour of the VERA laboratories at the
University of Vienna, physicist and environmental researcher Karin Hain will introduce the particle accelerator and its application
in highly sensitive trace analysis.
20. June 6:30 pm - 9 pm
JANUS – Performance by Katrin Hornek and Karin
Pauer
21. June 3 pm - 6 pm
JANUS – Performance and Artist Talk 
