Michaela Putz is a student in the Art & Science Master program at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna and have been researching on the topic of rituals and ritualistic behaviour from different perspectives for a while. On the one hand, Putz is interested on how rituals are often used to elevate a specific situation, and, on the other hand, how they shape our daily lives and become habits. Putz has also been researching in an institutional context with works on child welfare and doctor-patient-relation, where rituals are very common (standing in lines, filling out forms etc.) but also problematic, when the ritualistic behaviour or bureaucracy has been taken more account than the human relationship.
In her more recent work, Putz has been focussing on the sound aspect of rituals as it used church bells and sirens – ritualistic sounds that frame people’s daily life experiences, especially in the rural areas of Austria. During her residency at HANGAR, the artist will continue her research on rituals, considering her new surroundings, especially aspects related to the port: the sounds of incoming ships, the cargo, the behaviour of people when they arrive and leave.