Dystopia Eutopia

"Dystopia Eutopia" by Austrian Artist Victoria Coeln is an intervention on the occasion of the "Festival of Joy” (celebration of the 71st anniversary of liberation from the Nazi Regime) on May 8, 2016. As night falls, raster patterns and barbed wire overwrite the two most distinctive gates in the centre of Vienna, the Heldentor (Heroes’ Gate, in this photo) and the Michaelertor (Michael’s Gate). Over a period of 40 nights, the synthesis of raster, barbed wire and grand architecture creates an image of eutopia and dystopia. Eutopia describes an ideal society, dystopia its opposite. Contrary to conjecture, Eutopia and Dystopia do not constitute polar opposites in society but only exist as a pair, as two sides of the same coin.