Edith Payer
Gallery of Portraits, 2024
site specific installation with found objects and prints in different sizes, based on the artist’s collection of pareidolia, dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist
The Gallery of Portraits is an installation made from Edith Payer’s collection of pareidolia, which the artist started collecting in 2006, combined with a selection of objects showing faces. Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon that perceives a dedifferentiated sensory stimulus as indicating a familiar object or structure, such as a face. It is also a kind of “misperception” caused by meaningless, ambiguous stimuli perceived as having meaning. The choice of a room in the old sanatorium for the installation was the result of several examples of pareidolia already contained in the textures of the room. The largest among the examples is the centrally placed portrait of a woman, the unintentional result of scraping paint off the walls. These elements form the basis for the arrangement of the prints, framed and printed in different styles and sizes in order to create a comprehensive portrait gallery. The objects and forms in the pictures come alive for a brief moment. According to the theories of Bruno Latour and Jane Bennett, they become actors who are more than passive objects – they look back.
Arthropods, 2018 and 2024
2 light box display case with arthropods, wood, Perspex, neon tubes, 50 x 80 x 25 cm
courtesy of the artist
A large number of dead arthropods – flies, arachnids, dragonflies, beetles, and centipedes – are fixed in two display cases: the boxes are reminiscent of natural history museum collections, which were fundamental in the creation of extensive taxonomies from the 18th century onwards. The animals were not expertly killed but were already dead when collected. The grid of the arrangement does not follow any established logic, with common biological classification criteria no longer recognizable. In addition, the display cases also served as light boxes and it seems the arthropods have been attracted to the light surfaces.
Gallery of Portraits, 2024, found object, based on the artist’s collection of pareidolia, courtesy of the artist
Edith Payer (b. 1975, Wolfsberg) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Her artistic practice constitutes a colourful mix of techniques and a range of working methods. She maintains several collections of found and lost objects, but also collects images of pareidolia and graffiti, all of which flow into her museum-like installations. In addition, she sews textile works, mostly from second-hand materials, and draws black-humoured artist’s books. Questioning cultural achievements together with the ironic interpretation and imitation of traditional cultural techniques play an important role in Payer’s work.
