Leaving Work

Tomorrow I’ll be retired

**Name: Johanna Hierzegger
**Date of Birth: May 4, 1965
**Earliest Possible Retirement Date: December 1, 2026

So in December 2026, I could retire at age 61.5. This theoretical transition into the “last phase of life” has been on my mind for quite some time. Since 2011, I have visited people at their workplaces on their last day of work—for example, at the LKH, a state government office, a conference room, or city hall—interviewed them, and filmed them in the process. For me, these interviews had something in common: a palpable sense of uncertainty, something unspoken lingering in the air, and melancholy.

Now, saying goodbye to work is drawing closer for me as well, and around this date, an installation-based work will take shape—former interviewees will be invited, encounters with the videos will take place, young voices will be heard, and I myself will explore and document my entire working life. 

Concept and Installation: Johanna Hierzegger

Dramaturgy: Lorenz Kabas 

Support: Moke Rudolf-Klengel, Christina Romirer

(We have our texts translated by DeepL)