In This Side Up in Bildraum 07, Julian Palacz continues his investigation of global parcel logistics, which he began in 2021. A parcel equipped with a camera, microphone and sensors registers vibrations or changes of direction, filming views and insights into those transit spaces that otherwise remain hidden from the recipients.

With his glimpses behind the scenes, the artist sheds light on the sharp rise in online purchases over the years, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, Austrian Post alone distributed three times as many parcels as in the previous year, reaching a record number of 165 million parcels sent.

In the artist's expansive installation, viewers follow the winding paths of the parcel via conveyor belts and the countless levels of the distribution centers using video footage. An initially seemingly rhythmic choreography reveals itself on closer inspection as a regime of strict efficiency in which there is hardly any room for people. In addition to the data delivered by the parcel, Palacz also weaves common symbols from the logistics industry into the spatial installation, in which the boundaries between the everyday and the artistic become blurred.

The artist has chosen “This Side Up” as the title of the exhibition. What is supposed to protect sensitive goods during transportation is reminiscent of the title of the film satire “Don't Look Up” - a reference to the parcel apocalypse?