Material shifts: Abfall, Aufbruch brings together artistic positions by students of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, who explore new aesthetic and material possibilities at the intersection of traditional leatherworking and emerging bio-based practices. The works were developed in connection with the workshop Chitin [C8H13NO5] by Julia Ihls and with the Central Leather Workshop led by Heidelinde Zach. The exhibition is on view at the Volkstheater subway station for the month of November.

Dominik Einfalt
more-than-

“more-than-“ weaves together processes of decay, circulation, and renewal. Slime slowly trickles down the sculpture, decomposing the human made bioplastic while simultaneously sustaining the life of the wheat rooted in an artificial mesh of metal fabric.The work traces how human and more-than-human matter is tightly interwoven in continuous cycles of emergence and decay—of what persists, and what fades away.

Klemens Hegen

V

Composed of reclaimed handrails and handles from decommissioned 4020 railcars of the ÖBB, and interwoven with recycled leather belts, “V” is a sculptural exploration of transformation and memory. These once-functional components, worn by four decades of daily use are recontextualized and reimagined in a new aesthetic vocabulary. V reveals the embedded histories within these fragments —scratches and abrasion—becoming silent witnesses to time and transit.

Konstantina Hornek

Case Study C8H13NO5 // Sample 48 – flowing, floating, fleeting

The plastic bag - a symbol of everyday convenience, yet bearing ecological weight. The installation “Case Study C8H13NO5 // Sample 48 – flowing, floating, fleeting” combines poetic commentary and material experiment within a biodegradable chitin-based alternative, reflecting on the ambivalence of (in-)transparency, permanence and decay, global impact, and the plastic bag's pop-cultural significance.

Anouk Lucas
I am no monument

“I am no monument” deals with the properties of the second most common biopolymer after cellulose: chitin. It is found in the shells of crustaceans, the exoskeletons of insects and the cell walls of fungi. Chitin bioplastics decompose in soil or compost within two to seven weeks. This process supports the growth of microorganisms present in the soil, which break down the bioplastic and absorb carbon and nitrogen.

Ida West-Hansen
Study in vegetable tanned leather
Study in cowhide and goatskin

Two studies in amorphous form trace a woven material’s return to the curved shape of the animal it once belonged to. Each attempt is slightly asymmetrical, subtly shifting the original form.