The MINING Kollektiv deals with the question of how temporary, site-specific art can establish itself as an art form within processes of renovating or dismantling. In that endeavor, it searches for new interfaces between art, architecture, film, archaeology, culture of remembrance and sustainable building practices. Through artistic interventions in places best described as 'spaces in transition', Ursula Gaisbauer and Friedrich Engl thematize the sustainable handling of resources and materials both in the construction industry and in the field of art. The collective stages these spaces in their moments of purposelessness to create walk-in, atmospheric interpretations of space with materials found on site, complemented by sound and video. In these works, artwork and the random arrangement of materials are not clearly distinguishable; the roles of artists, demolition workers, and viewers are all renegotiated.

The book “MINING: Spaces in Transition” documents and extends the projects MINING: Untertage (São Paulo, 2018) and MINING: Filmhaus (Vienna, 2020), highlighting ways in which the moment of transition can be interpreted artistically and played with in an installative way. In doing so, it reflects both the experimental and exploratory nature of the collective's working methods and the spatial and cinematic experience of the exhibition. In addition to views of the exhibition and successions of pictures that bring the processes and video works to life, the publication contains the project manifesto, an interview with the MINING Kollektiv, historical backgrounds, commentaries by the cooperation partners, poetical experience reports and photos by visitors.