2. Ich oder das Chaos

The second monumental work Ich oder das Chaos (me or the chaos) in the main room of HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark refers to a statement made by Vladimir Putin in 2015 as part of the first offensive in Ukraine, and gives Kapfer’s exhibition it’s subtitle. Ich oder das Chaos is a true-to-scale replica of the Louvre’s Western entrance gate in Paris, made out of black painted wood. Bearing various insignia of the ruler Napoleon in its ornamentation, including the letter ​“N,” a thunderbolt, an eagle and the bees, it alludes to the former French ruler. Despite having been occupied by the French people in the course of the numerous French revolutions, the Louvre remains a place deeply associated with French rulers, including Napoleon. Kapfer originally created the work for the 2015 Kiev Biennale, comparing Russia’s hegemonic ambitions to those of Napoleon.

Illuminated from behind by a powerful filament lamp, the replica of the fine ironwork casts a large shadow, spreading the ornamental details across the room and the Atlas sculptures. Kapfer’s play with shadows presents a strategy to generate an uncanny mood. With its historicizing artifacts, the gloomy room is reminiscent of a grotesque, exaggeratedly realistic ghost train.

In its monumentality, the full-scale reconstruction of the Louvre Gate must once again be understood as a symbol of exaggerated power. Metaphorically speaking, the two central elements of the exhibition merge. The title Ich oder das Chaos can be read as a motto of contemporary autocrats staging themselves as titans. Kapfer analyzes political culture by examining the relationships between architectural structures such as buildings and their capacity for visual representation in terms of authority and oppression in political systems. According to Kapfer, symbols are always ambiguous and dynamic: while they may stand for a specific person, a group or an event in their original context, they can also be alienated and instrumentalized. Hence, Kapfer’s practice does not only focus on historically significant objects, but always intends to show the underlying narratives associated with these symbols of power and their appropriation by the mighty, potentially violent sovereign.


Franz Kapfer, Ich oder das Chaos, 2015
Lacquer on wood, light bulb
Variable dimensions, 500 x 210 x 5 cm
Courtesy evn collection, Maria Enzersdorf