father’s gun - I Almost shot my Brother, 2024
video loop
6 min

Father’s Gun was developed in 2024 as part of a series of short one-take video works.

It shows Hallauer emerging from darkness and pointing a gun directly toward the observer. In the video, the artist confronts both himself and the viewer with the emotions connected to a childhood incident in which he nearly shot his brother. The single-take structure preserves the immediacy of the encounter, transforming a personal memory into a direct confrontation.

Within Hallauer’s exploration of inherited violence, trauma, and responsibility, the work examines the persistence of a moment that remains suspended between intention and consequence. The weapon becomes both a physical object and a psychological symbol, confronting the viewer with the proximity between fear, violence, and intimacy within a familial relationship.

The direct gaze and fixed perspective collapse the distance between witness and participant. The viewer is positioned not as a passive observer but as someone confronted with the unresolved weight of an act that almost occurred, raising questions around memory, responsibility, and the transmission of violence.