In Schokoladewiegeautomat, Veronika Merklein brings to life the forgotten tale of Vienna’s chocolate weighing machines, a peculiar chapter in postwar Austria between 1949 and 1952. These machines, which dispensed chocolates in exchange for a weight measurement, were designed as part public health initiative, part surveillance tool, encouraging citizens to weigh themselves and track weight trends across the city.

Initially, the machines were an inventive solution to postwar undernourishment and the need for nutritional monitoring. However, the project quickly became a victim of its own design. The chocolates failed to withstand Vienna’s climate, widespread theft, lack of reliable data, and the expiration of Marshall Plan subsidies. The machines disappeared, leaving behind only remnants in historical records and a humorous 1888 cartoon mocking the confusion: “I put in three Kreuzer and got no chocolate!”

In her performance, Merklein transforms this curious episode into a rich exploration of the intersections between history, storytelling, and the body. As she revives this long-forgotten chapter, the performance becomes more than just a historical recounting. Merklein delves into the seductive nature of storytelling itself: how narratives are not only shaped by fact, but by fabrication. Furthermore, Schokoladewiegeautomat uses the chocolate weighing machines as a lens through which to examine broader issues of diet culture, body politics, and the subtle violences embedded in our attempts to measure and manage bodies.