empty time

choreographies – empty time – Nr.000

Empty time – how do we perceive it? What does it trigger in us? People often associate it with negative things. That’s why it’s easy to be tempted to fill it. But what happens when we leave time „empty“?

Our everyday lives are packed with work, social obligations and numerous activities that leave little room for empty time. The digital world also has a major influence on how we deal with these phases. Many people take refuge in the digital world to fill the void. Scrolling through social media and istening to podcasts to bridge the train journey. We are on the hunt for tasks and distractions to fill our time. We have unlearned to leave empty time as is and to engage with it  as such and feel comfortable in it.

The idea lies in freeing the the action from its inherent meaning or designated task.. DIfferent kinds of tasks in the form of choreographies are intended to lead people into a leapfrogging action. They do nothing. In this actively not doing anything, a feeling of inability to act allows for the perception of empty time. How much space there is at once to observe the mountain scenery, which changes a little every day and shows a completely different landscape from every angle; or wondering about the colour of the sky, which is always a little too blue to be squeezed into a color code.

We want to introduce people to empty time and show how positive and how much potential lies within. For this purpose we have developed a small booklet with choreographies.

By setting tasks, we want to ensure that people are not confronted with the negative feeling of emptiness. Instead, we want to offer a sense of structure and productivity. However, the actions resulting from the tasks lead people to engage more consciously with their environment, actively perceive it and immerse themselves in the experience of empty time. 

… a proposal for Medienfrische 2024

Empty space, as can be found in the Bschlabertal, is not empty time. Empty space is filled to the brim with time, but with time that has already existed. Uninhabited spaces are not empty spaces, past time is not empty time. Nevertheless, engaging with other people’s past time can be a possible starting point for rediscovering our own empty time. We therefore want to pursue an approach that enables us to specifically experience empty time and learn to appreciate it again, so that after the experience during the workshop we can also incorporate and recognise small moments of empty time in our everyday lives.

The choreographies are also intended to be a kind of travel guide through the Bschlab Valley. We want to develop compositions based on it. This will create a connection between the empty place and the empty time.

The experienced places and the experienced empty time are to be captured through various media. We want to bring these moments together in an installation. It should reflect both the empty time and the place.