SOLID GHOSTS
September 4, 2026 – October 17, 2026
Sophie Constanze Polheim, Harriet Rabe von Froreich
DER MIXER
SOLID GHOSTS explores the fragile boundary between the virtual and the real world—that threshold where physicality seems to become irrelevant, yet continually reasserts its place. The exhibition brings together two artistic approaches that address the body, technology, and embodiment in very different ways.
Sophie Constanze Polheim’s series *FEUERTEUFEL* brings together sculptures, textile works, readymades, video fragments, and a collection of essays. She is exhibiting a selection of these works at MIXER.
The neologism “Feuerteufel” refers to arsonists and draws a connection between the act of setting fire and the figure of the devil. The direct English translation, “firedevil,” describes tornado-like air vortices that can form during large-scale wildfires. The cycle forms a web of associations centered on questions about the ambivalent relationship between humans and fire. Various temporal and semantic layers intersect, drawing on the myth of Phaethon, depictions of the devil from Austria at the turn of the century, and fire-related customs surrounding May 1st—all of which are recontextualized today and repositioned within feminist and ecological perspectives.
The individual works explore moments of violence and fragility, as well as the principles of destruction, transformation, and new beginnings inherent in fire. Polheim’s objects possess a powerful physical presence and conceptualize fire as the first cultural technique, alongside human vulnerability.
In contrast, Harriet Rabe von Froreich’s works explore the intersection of digital interaction, ritual, and human care. Her piece “Tarotbot,” created during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, is based on an exchange via Instagram: People sent her messages, and the artist drew a tarot card for them. She then reconstructed this card using everyday objects from her home—thus embodying the card in physical space. She subsequently formulated a personal, intuitively guided interpretation as a small piece of life advice. Her second work, “Sisybot,” alludes to the myth of Sisyphus: A program on an antiquated computer generates endless combinations of letters and numbers to form potential email addresses and send messages to them—an absurd, mechanical struggle to make contact. In both works, it becomes clear how von Froreich intertwines digital practices with human needs for meaning, communication, and physical contact, transforming them into performative, body-oriented forms.
Contact:
Michaela Schrabeck
kontakt@dermixerffm.eu