Talk with Heidi Hörsturz, multimedia artist!

“Learning something is always a process of experimenting and trying things out in my view.” We asked few questions to the mysterious Heidi Hörsturz…

How and when did you learn how to use computers and multimedia installations for your concerts?

I started early to make music and sound experiments with friends. We used computers, manipulated children’s keyboards and self-made metal constructions. Learning something is always a process of experimenting and trying things out in my view. The sounds created their own fantasy worlds in my imagination. I started working on visualizations in the form of videos to give them shape. As a result, I decided to study art. The study was a very inspiring time. I learned a lot about myself and about different techniques such as animation. The studies were very free and independent work was always very important. It is an iterative process; I try to realize ideas and I constantly discover and learn new things while doing it.

In your works, you “examine the influence of new technologies and the social questions that have arisen as a result of digital development”. What are your conclusions about that?

A recurring theme in my work is a play with identities of the present times. My works question the boundaries between ‘original’ and ‘copy’, ‘real’ and ‘virtual’. Since the advent of digitalization and respective technologies; boundaries between these seemingly opposed categories blur increasingly. Therefore, one of my guiding questions is: How do virtual spaces and technological developments impact the construction of our (digital) identities? My room installations and animations often feature strong sensory overloads. I see this kind of overstimulation as a symbol of hypermodernity. More! Better! Faster! Higher screen resolution, larger displays and increasingly realistic digital representations. It is an attempt to merge or even to replace the analogue world with a perfectionist digital world.

What interest you the most in that “sound and moving image” combo?

It fascinates me when sound and image merge into an inseparable unity. A sound has the power to change and intensify the effect of an image. This is also true the other way around, of course. The focus is neither on the auditory nor the visual perception. It is an audiovisual symbiosis. In the creative process, associative thinking is something that totally inspires me. What does this sound look like? Or, how can this image sound?

How do you see the coronavirus crisis and the fact that it encourages digital relationships even more?

I think that the increasing focus on digital relationships is a general development that we could observe long before the coronavirus. I see this tendency as an opportunity and at the same time very critical. Certainly, social media and technological developments are an opportunity to bring our society closer together. However, the crucial question is: how do we use these opportunities? Is the second life an extension of our reality or a parallel reality?

Thank you Heidi!