Maria Muhar - Mariannengraben

An aging gas station bistro at the lowest point in Austria, the Mariana Trench. At 113 meters above sea level, alongside various drinks, the world's events drift over the sticky counter: failed barbecue evenings, the inability to drink from an EU-standard buttermilk carton, hardcore heartbreak, and the eternal loyalty to combustion engines in the car-loving country of Austria. Fueled by melange and apricot schnapps, one soon arrives at the big concepts: freedom, responsibility, and justice. Power, status, and their symbols. Late at night, the hardened fronts seem to budge not an inch – only the storm front Herta is quickly making its way to the gas station. And as the water level rises, the once-clear lines in the Mariana Trench begin to blur. Between dark humor and existential urgency, Maria Muhar slides through a ridiculous reflection on a time that is hardly graspable anymore. Unless one tackles it at the lowest point.