Forever Young
Forever Young is a video work about the desire for eternal health and youth. The footage was produced during my residency at Fundaziun Nairs in Scuol, where I explored the history of water tourism in the Lower Engadine and the region’s distinctive spring water. During the Belle Epoque, the water was highly popular and attracted visitors seeking its supposed health benefits. Over time, however, its importance declined with the rise of the pharmaceutical industry. Today, some of the infrastructures built during that period, including hotels and drinking halls, stand empty. The atmosphere of these places resembles a kind of ghostly idyll.
I first exhibited the video installation Forever Young in the Wasserkannisterraum of the former Semmelweis Clinic in Vienna. The building had stood vacant for more than twenty years and is currently being used as a cultural centre.
“How is the Forever Young doing? What does the Forever Young feel? Do they have any aspirations in life if they are going to be young forever? Wishes? Hopes? Is the Forever Young forever free from chronic infections? From fatigue or itchy eczema? Will they die someday, like everyone else?”