Lois Hechenkblaikner’s Ischgl and more A Pop-up Project(ion) meticulously and irreverently documents the lesser-known side of Austrian Alpine resorts. This pop-up exhibition at MASI’s LAC venue features the Austrian photographer’s most recent series of photos on the Tyrolean resort of Ischgl. Published in a bestselling book by Steidl in June 2020, Hechenblaikner documents one of Austria’s best-known and highly sought ski resorts, renowned not just as a holiday destination, but also for its après-ski nightlife, concerts and over-the-top events, which Hechenblaikner defines as “Delirium Alpinum”. The photographs are an ongoing testimony to the almost reportage-style research carried out by the photographer, who has been documenting the various aspects of Tyrolean ski tourism for over thirty years. In Ischgl, Hechenblaikner immersed himself among the revellers at parties characterized by mayhem and excess, immortalizing telling moments with his camera and also documenting background features: ski facilities, new buildings and the nightclub scene. Projected in themed pairs, the photographs clearly reveal their documentary intentions, to depict the unfiltered reality without judgement or prejudice. This intense and expressive series of over 200 images compiled over many years years can be considered a sociological and photographic study into the culture of events and mass tourism, which has allowed Hechenblaikner to offer an objective look at the mechanisms of a profitable but oftentimes irresponsible party industry.

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY WARNING

Please note: Due to this exhibit’s subject matter, visitors are kindly informed that some of the content of this reportage-style documentary pop-up exhibition may be unsuitable for visitors under 16. Discretion is advised.