Site-Specific Project, Duration: 50 min, 2016
Töpperschloss Neubruck / Scheibbs (A) (at the NÖ-Viertelfestival | Mostviertel 2016)
This site-specific project by Roland Wegerer, realized in the gardens of Töpperschloss Neubruck during the NÖ-Viertelfestival Mostviertel 2016, exemplifies his interdisciplinary and experimental approach. The 50-minute performance invites participants on a guided walk through the castle’s garden—yet, in a deliberate break from convention, the group ignores the established paths and instead navigates the landscape by using lampposts, flagpoles, trees, and other elements as markers for a hidden, improvised hiking trail.
By abandoning the pre-defined routes, Wegerer challenges participants to rethink the very essence of hiking and the act of moving through space. The project raises fundamental questions: What is the essence of hiking? What constitutes a trace, and how can it be read? Through this performative intervention, the familiar environment is transformed into a field of exploration, where every step becomes an act of discovery and every landmark a potential signpost for new directions.
Wegerer’s practice often merges artistic intuition with structured innovation, reflecting his role as an idea coach and his commitment to fostering creativity in others. By encouraging participants to read and reinterpret traces in the landscape, he not only invites playful experimentation but also prompts reflection on how we perceive, navigate, and inscribe meaning onto our surroundings.