Elke Seidl
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1969.
Biography
Neilreichgasse, Vienna, Austria
I am the 2nd child of my loving mother and the 1st child of my alcoholic father
Favoriten, Vienna, Austria
Until age 11, I live a carefree life with my parents
Pernerstorferstraße, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
At age 11, my mother leaves my alcoholic father; she is cheated out of her money and ends up on the street
Mollardgasse, Mariahilf, Vienna, Austria
At age 11, I alternate between staying with my mother and with my father, who threatens to stop taking me in, should I continue to also stay with my mother
Sankt-Johann-Park, Margareten, Vienna, Austria
At age 12, I accept barbiturates from strangers in the park and my mother’s neighbour tempts me to my first fix of heroin
Vorgartenstraße, Vienna, Austria
At age 12, my mother tries heroin in order to understand what is happening to me
Wollzeile, Innere Stadt, Vienna, Austria
At age 13, a man with a Dobermann lures me into his apartment, forces me to perform oral sex, and threatens me with his dog
Währinger Gürtel, Alsergrund, Vienna, Austria
At age 14, I get detoxification treatment in the children’s psychiatric ward at the AKH (Vienna General Hospital)
Roßauer Lände, Alsergrund, Vienna, Austria
At age 14, I have a criminal record, spend one week in prison, and am sedated with Valium
Baumgasse, Landstraße, Vienna, Austria
At age 15, I am one of the backing vocalists for the band Drahdiwaberl and enjoy the musician’s lifestyle
Kettenbrückengasse, Vienna, Austria
At age 17, my best friend dies; death and loss are my companions
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
At age 18, I am started on methadone, begin mandatory therapy and extend it voluntarily
Johnsdorf, Johnsdorf Brunn, Austria
At age 18, my boyfriend and I move in together and we have our own apartment
Wechselbundesstraße, Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
At age 19, I relapse and serve my prison sentence at the women’s prison JA Schwarzau
Johnsdorf, Johnsdorf Brunn, Austria
At age 24, I separate from my boyfriend and meet my new partner in therapy
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
At age 29, I no longer inject and start to smoke crack cocaine
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
At age 31, I split from my partner, but we stay friends
Hardtmuthgasse, Favoriten, Vienna, Austria
At age 32, I am sentenced to 5 years in prison for dealing drugs, and there I am diagnosed with a chronic illness, polyarthritis
Mauerbachstraße, Penzing, Vienna, Austria
Until age 47, I take morphine and co-use other substances, deal with drugs, and live either in prison or therapeutic facilities
Wechselbundesstraße, Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
At age 47, my father, my mother, and my partner die
Favoriten, Vienna, Austria
At age 48, I mourn together with my stepfather
Landesgerichtsstraße, Josefstadt, Vienna, Austria
At age 49, I need to undergo heart valve replacement surgery
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
At age 52, a specialist police unit storms my apartment and I am imprisoned
Landesgerichtsstraße, Josefstadt, Vienna, Austria
At age 52, I fight for the court to grant me treatment instead of serving time in prison for the 7th time, and win
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
At age 52, together with my boyfriend, I share the hope of feeling at home
Related spaces
The conceptual architecture of TBDWBAJ is based on the investigation of various social spaces, isolated space, cultural space, public space and virtual space. Each of these rooms describes a phase of the project and takes on a different perspective.