First, international horror. Then the worry about our own well-being. As bizarre as it might seem, within a few days the empty toilet paper roll became a symbol of fear, of loss, of the finite nature of our own prosperity.
Should we have an advertising column commemorating this prelude to the crisis? Would it be ridiculous in this form? No, it wouldn’t and it isn’t. This ridiculous toilet paper thing has gone around the world, and Salzburg is an international city. All visitors will understand what it is about. We are reflecting on what has happened. On what the crisis has done to us and on how fragile our solidarity with one another can be - without taking away from what individual people were able to achieve during the crisis. Utopias pop up in our minds in which Salzburg residents stand in front of supermarkets and share what they have with people in need. Is our interpretation of what has happened too fatalistic? Perhaps. This human low blow in the fight for the "last roll" gives us hope that there will be some rethinking. We bring the shameful empty roll into the public eye to say: Yes, our prosperity is finite and: No, not all people in Salzburg have stuffed pantries. For many paper was scarce even before Corona.
The QR code can be used to financially contribute to a fund that supports people with microcredits who are at risk of homelessness due to payment difficulties.
EXTASIER, Iska Gebhard, Martha Stützle