Michaela Putz is a student of the Art & Science Master program at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna and has been researching rituals and ritualistic behavior 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 a focus on child welfare and doctor-patient-relations, in which cases rituals are very common (standing in lines, filling out forms etc.) but also problematic: in the context of bureaucracy has been taken into more account than the human relationship.

In her more recent work, Putz has been focused 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 ports: the sounds of incoming ships, cargo, and the behaviors of people when they arrive and leave.