‘New Rituals/Neue Rituale‘ is an artists’ book and a collective artwork in its own right. The contributions were made by invited artists especially for the project and the book as a whole can be seen as an art object. The focus is entirely on emerging artists from Scotland and Austria and what they have to show us today on the subject of rituals in the format of a book.

For this book launch celebrating the release of New Rituals/Neue Rituale, Schreiner discusses the project itself and contributing artists present the work they developed for the book from 16 Nicholson Street Gallery and internationally via Zoom.

Rituals and art, we often forget, have always gone hand in hand, just as religion, art and science were hardly separable not so long ago. There is something incredibly powerful about rituals and the symbolism that goes with them. As humans, we appear to have a deep need for them. They mark the passing of time, but also give us a foothold in it. They structure what is otherwise a diffuse stringing together of days, hours and years. Without them it would perhaps be a bit like ‘lock-down’ forever.

Contributing artists: James Rigler, Sekai Machache, Katharina Brandl, Violeta Ivanova, Ross Fleming, Flora deBechi, Borjana Ventzislavova, Abiona Esther Ojo, Fabian Fink, Elke Halbmayer, Edward Bruce, Stephanie Black-Daniels, Rainer Nöbauer-Kammer, Aga Paulina Młyńczak, Adam Ulen, Beverley Chapman, Isobel Lutz-Smith, Naomi van Dijck, Sam Bunn, Laura Põld, Michael Hautemulle, Katharina Gruzei, Natsumi Sakamoto, Tinja Ruusuvuori, Niamh Moloney, Tomash Schoiswohl.

‘New Rituals/Neue Rituale‘ is kindly supported by Creative Scotland, Land Salzburg and Land Oberösterreich.

Oktavia Schreiner is a visual artist and the curator and editor of the artist book. She was born in 1991 in Salzburg and grew up in Berlin, near Rome and Linz. She has a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Art and Design, Linz and a Master of Letters in Fine Art Practice from the Glasgow School of Art. She currently lives and works in Glasgow where she is a studio member at the Glasgow Sculpture Studios.