In June 2020 Urban Subjects[1] were invited to design a post-card for the project KLEINE POST initiated by Public Art Lower Austria[2].

THE STARS ABOVE US

The shock of the lockdown due to the health threats of the corona-pandemic created unique and bold forms of solidarity, social responsibility and accountability. At the same time the daily routines of working and living were ruptured and we were impelled to stay at home, protect yourself, and protect others. Yet, despite these forms of isolation, we have seen a growing mutual social responsibility in the center of society. For instance, the workers who do the on the groundwork of healthcare, food supply, energy infrastructure have been recognized as never before and applauded.

The slogan 'Leave No One Behind' was meant to also look at the effects of the corona pandemic on those at the margins of society. Also, those people who lost their jobs or disadvantaged people with no secure place or home, and people with mental illness or physical disabilities who were affected more than others were included in the call for kindness solidarity.

Rather than expressing a gesture of thank you to a group, we would like to hand over the agency of sending this gesture to a group of people for whom we can’t even imagine the true impact of the pandemic - all people, who temporarily stay at the initial reception centre (EAST) of Traiskirchen, no matter in which stage of their process of seeking asylum they are. Our plan is to distribute the postcard to these people so they can send them to whomever they wish. These cards will have sufficient postage affixed so that the person who wants to mail it can send it anywhere in the world, where international mail service is working.

A night photograph of the stars above the area of Traiskirchen, Lower Austria, is, in one sense, a very neutral way of indicating where one is in the world, for the constellation of the stars also indicate where one is on the earth. In this way, a postcard of the night sky of lower Austria is a card that any refugee can send to anyone in the world as a means to indicate their location. Access to a view of the stars is easily accessible, so a postcard of the stars is also recognition of a shared commonality. Yet, from a refugee perspective, the night sky can also signify the lack of a roof over one’s head, the lack of a home, and a period of being transitory and in precarious conditions. But the image of stars above us can also give some hope or a sense of (not known yet) futurity.[3]