The 'Mushroom Pool' Emerges - Myriam Thyes

The Triestersiedlung is a working-class neighbourhood with social housing in the south of Graz. Here, Myriam Thyes and Eva Ursprung developed a collaborative project with residents of the Triestersiedlung from April 2015 about the former ‘Schwammerlbad’ (‘Mushroom Pool’) on the playground in the park. Because in the stories of the residents it came up again and again – a water basin with a concrete mushroom in the middle. In the summer, the children liked to splash around in it. The so-called ‘Schwammerlbad’ existed from 1951 to 2003, use was free of charge, and residents took care of it. The park and pool were the centre of communication in the Triestersiedlung, especially for children and young people. The ‘Schwammerlbad’ became a symbol for everything good in the neighbourhood: community, fun, friendship, freedom, success (well-known footballers came from the neighbourhood). After more than 50 years, the pool had suddenly disappeared…

Images

Thyes and Ursprung did research in the Triestersiedlung and in the city archives, took photographs and filmed, talked to many people in the neighbourhood, collected memories and old photographs. During interviews, some residents drew the ‘Mushroom Pool’ from memory. In other cases, Myriam Thyes drew ‘phantom images’ based on their stories. Eva Ursprung photographed and filmed the interviews.

The material was used to create a multi-part multimedia installation with videos, photographs, drawings, interviews, that was exhibited at Steirischer Herbst 2015 in the HERITAGE exhibition at Schaumbad – Freies Atelierhaus Graz.

Downloads

HERITAGE in the program book of Steirischer Herbst, Graz, 2015
Flyer with call 2015, search for photos of the 'Mushroom Pool'

Videos

Searching for the Mushroom Pool interviews in the TriestersiedlungBy clicking the image or video link you accept the Vimeo privacy policy
Memories of the Mushroom Pool photo sequenceBy clicking the image or video link you accept the Vimeo privacy policy.