For the mental experiment of leaving the planet, KUNSTZELLE, eSeL Lorenz Seidler and Roman Pfeffer invite former astronaut Franz Viehböck for a conversation.

On October 2, 1991, Franz Viehböck launched on Soyuz TM-13 to the MIR space station as part of the Austrian-Russian AUSTROMIR-91 space project. The launch took place together with Aleksandr Volkov and Toktar Aubakirov from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. On the space station, Viehböck conducted a total of 15 scientific experiments for six days before returning to Earth on Soyuz TM-12 together with Anatoly Arzebarskij and Toktar Aubakirov on October 10, 1991. Franz Viehböck thus became the first and so far only Austrian in space.

The art cell was originally a telephone booth from which one could dial into other regions of the world. One could connect to a place where one was not at the moment.

The installation LEAVE THE PLANET suggests the way to a place somewhere else, where one is not and has never been. Yellow light penetrates from the cell through the lettering LEAVE THE PLANET to the outside. Every now and then the departure of a rocket is simulated with sound and smoke.

Even though we are unlikely to be able to leave the planet, the question arises: “What if and do we have to come back then?”

Additionally to the piece, a postcard is offered in a flyer holder. Pictured is a supposed yellow rocket in a black and white mountain landscape. An originally half 4 rowing boat has become a new symbol by turning it horizontal.

On the podium: Franz Viehböck, Roman Pfeffer, eSeL Lorenz Seidler (moderation), Pablo Chiereghin, Christine Baumann