2026
For the group show with concept and curation by Jana Sofie Liebe and Johanna Gratzer on NYABF at MOMA PS1, New York, we were asked to invite our own preferred audience in New York to the show by delivering the message “May I request the pleasure of your company” (same as title of the project) in a way fitting to the purpose, and the process of the invitation itself becomes the exhibition.
Feeling totally irrelevant, both in relation to New York and to the exhibition, I was distracted by the anxiety and aversion at the prospect of the high expense on my first trip there, especially about the involuntary tipping.
Besides that, I found it impossible to convince myself that it’s a good idea to invite someone irrelevant - those with whom I (claim that I) share the deep sympathy and interest - to an art show. What compensation can I offer for wasting their perfectly irrelevant day?
To make the idea of both actions slightly more appealing, the invitation was stamped directly onto one- and five-dollar bills and put into circulation during my 10 days visit to New York. The bills were used primarily as tips, with a few given as change and as souvenirs. The invitation does not become worthless when it loses its appeal with its message or as a keepsake, the dollar can be spent again as usual.
Around 100 - 130 dollars was spent on tips during the New York trip, 50 was to be reimbursed as part of the project.
Proof of Presence