POLYPHONIC HOT AIR

Approximately seven performers stand on equally high platforms, each equipped with a megaphone – an arrangement reminiscent of formats like Speakers’ Corner. POLYPHONIC HOT AIR explores who holds interpretive authority in public space, who makes decisions – and how the space itself reshapes the meaning of what is said. The project is a multilingual, semiotic, and performative investigation of these dynamics. It reveals how, within the urban environment, voices overlap, meanings shift, and new perspectives emerge – depending on who is speaking, who is listening, and where this interaction takes place. Amid the ever-present flood of images, Anahita Razmi’s intervention offers a poetic counterpoint. It opens space for ambiguity, open communication, and a polyphony that uncovers productive potential even in what is often dismissed as mere “hot air.” 

The performances are accompanied by posters placed throughout the city of Stuttgart. These visual elements further examine the meaning – and meaninglessness – of the expression “hot air.” The point of departure is the idiom itself, which takes on entirely different connotations depending on language, place, and cultural context. In German, “heiße Luft” refers to empty promises or meaningless talk. Other languages have their own equivalents: puro humo (Spanish: only smoke), du vent (French: wind), or the Japanese phrase kuchisaki dake – “only from the mouth.”