Hohenbüchler, Sonsbeek ’93

Irene en Christine Hohenbüchler, Project zonder titel, 1993

In the three months leading up to Sonsbeek ’93, sisters Irene and Christine Hohenbüchler (1964) created a series of artworks together with prisoners from the Koepelgevangenis (prison) in Arnhem. This was done under the supervision of a guard in a specially designed space. One part of the end result was exhibited to the public next to the prison in three simple pavilions (fig. 1), the other part was shown in the prison itself (fig. 2). In addition to the artworks, there is photo and video material of the special collaboration.[1]

The exchange with people who find themselves at the fringes of society is central to many of Irene and Christine Hohenbüchler's projects. For example, before Sonsbeek '93 they worked with mentally handicapped people from the Lienz art workshop in Tyrol. Their experiences and the artworks of the handicapped people were bundled in Herbar (1991). They also visited psychiatric institutions in Germany. Their personal background undoubtedly played a role in their work; their younger sister Heidi struggles with depression and the sisters' mother has been in therapy for a long time. In an interview included in the Sonsbeek '93 exhibition catalog, they both talk openly about this.[2]

The collaboration in Arnhem is completely new for both the sisters and the prisoners. For the twins, it was important that the prisoners could be themselves as much as possible and make their own decisions. For example, they could choose to participate or not, decide what they wanted to create and what music was played. Some prisoners participated every day, while others were there only a few hours a week. For the sisters, personal contact during the work process during which they strove to motivate and inspire each other was paramount. Although they guided the people intensively, Irene and Christine did not see themselves as creative therapists or teachers but as ‘animators’.[3] Christine’s diary entries in the catalog show that the reality was not always easy. “For most of them, it is just a burden to concentrate on something,” she writes.[4] As a result, she was very insecure at times about herself and the project.

The works of art on display, mainly paintings, marked the end of a months-long collaboration. However, it remains unclear what was created by the artists and what by the prisoners.[5] Artistic authorship played no role; the work process was the most important thing.

[1] “De Hohenbüchlerzusjes in Koepelgevangenis”, in: De Kunsten, p. 43.
[2] I. en C. Hohenbüchler, E. Jelinek, in: Exh. cat. Arnhem (Sonsbeek ‘93), 1993, pp. 254-260.
[3] “De Hohenbüchlerzusjes in Koepelgevangenis”, in: De Kunsten, p. 43.
[4] C. Hohenbüchler, in: exh. cat. Arnhem (Sonsbeek ‘93), 1993, p. 267.
[5] “De Hohenbüchlerzusjes in Koepelgevangenis”, in: De Kunsten, p. 43