Rainer Prohaska

The idea of a swimming pool—right on the Mühlbach. Next to Interspar, where no one would suspect it. The sculpture consists of several elements, such as a plastic slide, lifebuoys and a set of tubular steel steps. These are everyday objects that are given new meaning through being alienated and transferred into the field of art. They are presented as artworks, so-called Readymade SAMPLES, which are usually to be found in museums. 

Traisma, the title of the work, refers to a medieval settlement that was located in what is now the heart of St. Pölten. The name of the settlement is, in turn, derived from the River Traisen, which has lent its name to many communities in its drainage basin over the centuries. The Traisen also supplies the Mühlbach with fresh water.  

Rainer Prohaska spent part of his training at the Technical High School for Mechanical Engineering in St. Pölten and this experience continues to influence his work to this day: He regularly uses and adapts materials from the building industry—an approach that leads to his typical and often humorous formal vocabulary. As an artist, he explores the boundaries of do-it-yourself techniques: To what extent is he able to (re-)create complex technologies himself using relatively simple means? These technologies include motorised vehicles, ships, cooking stations, power stations and, now, swimming pools. 

In the spirit of sustainability, he sources the components for his installations from his existing collection of second-hand material. This fundus consists of over 1,000 “readymade” modules that Prohaska repeatedly reassembles in new configurations. 

Rainer Prohaska (1966, Krems) studied experimental media design at the Angewandte. The visual artist is particularly interested in everyday phenomena and objects, which he humorously places in an art context in an adapted form. Since 2002, he has been realising projects that artistically address issues of ecology and sustainability. The non-profit organization "FUTURAMA LAB" was founded for these works, which is committed to increasing the thematisation of various United Nations’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the field of art. He first built a research ship for the Danube in 2007, which has since taken 27 artists from Austria to the Black Sea. This "Artist & Scientist In Residence Programme" is entitled "MS-FUSION" and takes place once a year in the Danube region between Linz and Sulina. His works have already been presented in many international institutions, including at the opening of the 59th Biennale di Venezia (2022), the Austrian Cultural Forum in Rome, the MAK Centre Los Angeles and the ARS Electronica Festival in Linz.