‘House #1’ stood at Hoffmannplatz in Lana (BZ) for more than one year and demanded of the population that they think about one question: “What is a man, what is a human being?”. Answers to the question were posted into the house in the form of letters, drawings, books, waste and other objects. The project was completed in November 2008 with an exhibition of the objects that were collected and a performance of ‘Ein Haus voll Glorie: Schauet!’ (“Look! A House full of Glory”) by Matthias Schönweger. Denis Isaia, the Curator, spoke at the opening of the exhbition: “House #1 by Hannes Egger is an interactive piece of work. It creates a space in which it communicates with the public. This kind of process cannot be taken for granted because public space is a simple space. Doubt is not a popular guest in public spaces. … the artist who presents himself in this way is an artist who deserves praise because he attacks the image of the egocentric artist who presumes to present the truth and creates the possibility of discourse and expression in public. Egger’s work is an homage to the issue of the public. The house from this point of view is the absolute opposite of what it appears to be. It seems to be a container, a box, but it is something that animates a flow and generates public ambitions.”
After the exhibition Hannes Egger sorted the contents of ‘House #1’ and separated it into 25 editions, which he sealed into nylon.
Hannes Egger
House #1
2007
100x100x120
Brick, wood, tempera and acrylic
Hannes Egger 