Karin Pauer
JANUS
JANUS
Belvedere21, Vienna/ June 2025
With JANUS, artist and researcher Katrin Hornek and choreographer and performer Karin Pauer explore the complexities of the Atomic Age, tracing its cultural and political legacies alongside its contemporary dynamics.
The performance was developed specifically for the Belvedere 21—a building of historical significance initially conceived as the Austrian Pavilion for Expo 1958 in Brussels. A key theme of this first post–World War II World’s Fair was the “peaceful use of nuclear power,” manifested not only in the exhibits of numerous national pavilions but also in the radical proposal to power the fair itself with an on-site nuclear reactor. Its cooling water was intended to irrigate the gardens of the so-called colonial section.
JANUS juxtaposes the era’s exuberant optimism toward nuclear energy with the discovery of radionuclides in Vienna—remnants of atmospheric atomic bomb tests conducted during the same period. Belvedere 21 thus transforms into a living narrator, where polyphonic, embodied knowledge intersects with geological traces and geopolitical nuclear narratives.
In this performance, celebratory, energetic, resistant, dissolving, and reassembling bodies intertwine in a condensed, multi-sensory exploration of what it means to live in the nuclear Anthropocene. Hornek and Pauer create an immersive, physically experiential space for collective reflection on the traces of atomic science in bodies, plants, soils, and waterways. Through movement, sound, and collected voices, they negotiate the unprecedented alliance between technology, the military, and science—from the first atomic tests to the nuclear industry’s renaissance unfolding today.
Credits
Concept, Artistic Directiion and Set Design: Katrin Hornek Choreography and Artistic Direction: Karin Pauer Performers: Martina de Dominicis, Camilla Schielin, Karin Pauer, Gergö D. Farkas Sound: Katrin Euller Production: mollusca productions/Nefeli Antoniadi Scenographic Consulting and Production: Hektor Peljak (Studio Peljak) Curator: Christiane Erharter
JANUS is funded by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF–NXT22-002) and supported by the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Department of Site-Specific Art) and the University of Vienna. Co-produced by Kunstverein ARGO, with support from the City of Vienna (MA7) and the Belvedere.
