Rudolph and the Schwarzkoglers is an artistic collective whose work explores the limits of understanding reality and purpose. Perhaps – in a world so arbitrarily dark and bitter – it is the unusual, the uncanny, and not the typical, that hides the more raw, unbridled essence of being. After all, what use is there to normalcy – tired old broad that she is? Their work is in a constant state of evolution, and has encompassed themes of mortality, despair, existential dread and determinism. The commonality running throughout all of their pieces, however, no matter the theme, is this, one question: is there more to futility than meets the eye? 

Through the guise of alter-egos, who take the form of enormous, wobbling papier-mâché heads, Rudolph and the Schwarzkoglers utilise performance art, livestreaming, film, photography and more to explore their thematics. Each member brings their own unique – and arguably contrasting – vantage point. One holds fast to the revelatory and freeing nature of performance art as child’s-play; another makes dutiful efforts to tie the knot between the two conflicting lovers: absurdism and existentialism; while the third Schwarzkogler scrapes away at the veneer of everyday domesticity, hoping to find something that might make them laugh. Combined, they demand their audience to make sense of the nonsensical in one second, while proving to them in the next why they were deluded to even try.

If you want to more intimately contemplate Rudolph and the Schwarzkoglers, picture this: three paltry, albeit sharply-dressed imbeciles, banging their heads against a wall (that they’ve probably painted themselves for grand effect) continually… continually… continually… all the while listening out for that life-saving curtain call.