Christoph Mayer's Audiowalk Reveals the Buried Horrors of Gusen
Christoph Mayer's 2007 work "Audioweg Gusen" confronts the erasure of history at the former Gusen concentration camp in Langestein, Austria. Unlike the preserved Mauthausen camp nearby, Gusen was dismantled after WWII and its land sold cheaply, now a tidy village with houses, lawns, and rose gardens. The only remnant is the crematorium. Mayer interviewed survivors and current residents, overlaying their testimonies into an audio walk that forces listeners to superimpose past atrocities onto present-day scenery. The piece, recognized at Ars Electronica 2007, critiques the "manipulation of appearances" and the dialectic of repression and return of traumatic history. It reveals how everyday life is built on and obscures violence, making visible the "ob-version" of reality.
Key facts
- Christoph Mayer created Audioweg Gusen in 2007.
- The work is an audio walk inspired by Janet Cardiff's style.
- Gusen was a subcamp of Mauthausen in Langestein, Upper Austria.
- After WWII, Gusen was dismantled and its land sold cheaply.
- Only the crematorium remains as a visible vestige.
- Mayer interviewed both survivors and current inhabitants.
- The audio walk overlays survivor testimonies onto present-day locations.
- The piece was recognized at Ars Electronica 2007.
Entities
Artists
- Christoph Mayer
- Janet Cardiff
Institutions
- Ars Electronica
- Artribune
Locations
- Gusen
- Langestein
- Austria
- Mauthausen