Der Heilige Geist im Schmerzrausch
Florentina Holzinger's "Pfingstspiel" (Pentecost Play) is a multi-hour performance staged across two locations in Austria—the Wiener Eislauf-Verein in Vienna and Schloss Prinzendorf—as a satellite event to her contribution to the Venice Biennale. The work features extreme physical stunts, including a performer rappelling down a hotel facade, a car drifting with Holzinger on its roof, and a crucifixion scene, all drenched in blood, pain, and religious imagery. The performance, presented only once before 700 guests as part of the Wiener Festwochen, is described as a brutal, uncompromising marathon that pushes the boundaries of live art.
The piece matters because it continues Holzinger's reputation as one of Europe's most radical performance artists, blending feminist body politics with visceral spectacle. By staging the work at Schloss Prinzendorf—the former home of Hermann Nitsch's Orgien-Mysterien-Theater—Holzinger directly engages with Austria's legacy of Viennese Actionism, recontextualizing its ritualistic violence for a contemporary audience. The event also highlights the ongoing relevance of performance art in addressing themes of faith, pain, and collective experience, while testing the limits of audience endurance and complicity.