6 photographs 90 × 60 cm in the frame of the group exhibition "T/R/I/E/S/T/E at HdA Graz from 25 July to 6 August 2018.

Feat. Martin Behr, Johannes Gellner, Stefano Graziani, Otmar Lichtenwörther, Emanuela Marassi, Davide Skerlj, Transparadiso (Barbara Holub, Paul Rajakovics)
The postcolonial view of (the lost) Trieste and the associated gentle desire for repatriation on the one hand, and the many identities (not only those of (constructed) ethnic groups, as indicated in the title) on the other, may be leitmotifs of this exhibition and conversation project.

Trieste (along with Grado) has a special historical significance as a place of longing for (South) Austrians. Especially in times of an emerging Neobiedermeier and the search for perfection in identity as well as constructed awareness of home, places like these are under permanent pressure and permanent strain due to their historical-emotional charge.

However, this city and its surroundings work for its inhabitants with a special multiple identity, which is based on historical transformations.
Ethnic and social conflicts are part of this.
Architectural topoi, as different as they may seem at first glance because of their origin (as examples: the Risera di San Sabba, a former concentration camp and now memorial site; Miramare Castle; the Rozzol Melara residential complex or even the old port, which has written its own history through the planning misery over the decades) have burrowed into collective consciousness.

The region itself cultivates itself subconsciously as “an accumulation of national hatred” (Claudio Magris). That it was a border region of the Cold War for a long time can still be felt in 2018. It also sees itself as a prime example of a dichotomy between city and countryside. In this case, the predominantly Italian-speaking urban population and the Slovenian-speaking surrounding villages on Italian territory.

Dealing with history as a construction, sensuality (karst, architecture, cuisine, fashion, the sea) and the now largely normalized formerly explosive sentiments of the various ethnic groups. Sentiments that occasionally resurface in private conversation or at the First of May celebrations of the Slovenians.
Michael Petrowitsch (translation: Otmar L.)