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Research for Sleeping Positions

Research for Sleeping Positions
/5
    • Research for Sleeping Positions
  • 2006
  • video, color, sound
  • 16min, 52 sec
Anna Jermolaewa’s video "Research for Sleeping Positions" refers to the conditions which many refugees have to face upon their arrival in Vienna. Shot at a train station, Vienna’s Westbahnhof, the video documents a place where many trains arrive from Eastern European countries and where the homeless sometimes seek refuge. From her own experiences as a refugee from Russia, Jermolaewa knows all too well the conditions under which people have to live in a foreign country before being granted asylum or given a decent home. Dressed in sweatpants, a hoodie and a grey coat, the artist sleeps on a bench right in front of the entrance to the platforms. The solid wooden bench forces her to try several positions in order to rest, all of which are uncomfortable no matter how one leans, lies or curls up. For more than a quarter of an hour, the artist demonstrates the impossibility of feeling well in this situation while other individuals and families wait next to her. W.S.