Gloria Zein tells stories. She makes sculptures to activate a space or to give life to the history of a site. Phobophobia Phobiae was developed during a residency at studio house ‚Salzamt‘ in Linz. From Zein’s idea to recreate the studio ceiling’s historic plaster relief in clay sprang extensive experiments at the Art Academy’s ceramic workshop and a fantastical fiction. The story unfolds anxieties emanating from three epic sites in Linz: Its Catholic basilica, the Nazis’ tunnel system and the Salzamt itself. The final project consists of three text-prints, a steel sculpture with unglazed ceramics and six collages. Together, they form a narrative that exists independently from the site of its creation.
