Artist Statement

Walkersdorf is a small village in southeast Austria. It is east of Graz and south of Vienna, about 35 kilometers from the border with Hungary and about 35 kilometers from the border with Slovenia. It is a village with about 235 inhabitants. It is located along route number 66 that goes from Ilz to Feldbach. If it wasn’t for a famous restaurant in Walkersdorf that is located directly next to this important connection road, most people passing through the village probably would not remember it.

If you take the time and make a short walk into the village behind the restaurant, you will find a village similar to many other villages in the area. If you speak some German and ask people in their gardens if there is anything special to see in the village, they’ll probably answer you, that there is nothing special in Walkersdorf. “Maybe the pigs that are in a huge cage at one side of the village are worth a walk, and there is a little chapel at the entrance of the village, but apart from that”, they will tell you, “there is nothing special to see.”

People in Walkersdorf live their lives quietly. Most of the people have been living there all their lives, for generations. Most of the people that come from outside, that have moved to the village, come from the surrounding area, from places a few kilometers away. If you ask them where they are from, they will tell you, that they are not from Walkersdorf. They will explain to you where they are from. They will point to a hill about a kilometer away and tell you, that originally they come from the village behind that hill.

If you look on a map, Walkersdorf is situated very centrally, between five European capitals. With a car it is possible to visit Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb and Ljubljana, each on one day. It is not recommended to drive to Budapest and back on the same day, but it is possible. The other towns can easily be visited as a daytrip from Walkersdorf, although I do not think anyone would suggest you to do so. However, when living in Walkersdorf, these european capitals are far away. Even the neighbouring countries Hungary and Slovenia seem far away. Only the local capital Graz, which is about 45 kilometers away, seems closely connected.

Participating artists: Pila Rusjan, Luka Dekleva, Luka Princic, cym.

• cym is Simone van Groenestijn, NL/Austria

Full text (PDF) p. 127-128