rituals of tenderness

• or towards a house of wet-knowledge*

Artistic collaborators on the way (so far): Simone Aubert, Géraldine Chollet, Michelle Ettlin, Cosima Grand, Emma Hoette, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Sarah Palin, Anja Temperli

When I had already formulated the first ideas for the rituals of tenderness research, Olga Tokarczuk spoke about tenderness in her acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature (2020). The quote below is an extract from it:
Tenderness might be the most modest form of love. It is the kind of love that does not appear in the scriptures or the gospels, no one swears by it, no one cites it. It has no special emblems or symbols, nor does it lead to crime, or prompt envy. It appears wherever we take a close and CARE-ful look at another being, at something that is not our “self”.
Tenderness goes far beyond empathetic fellow feeling. Instead it is the conscious, though perhaps slightly melancholic, common sharing of fate.
Tenderness is a deep emotional concern about another being, its fragility, its unique nature, and its lack of immunity to suffering and the effects of time. It also perceives the bonds that connect us, the similarities and sameness between us.
Tenderness is a way of looking - that shows the world as being alive, living, interconnected, co-operating with, and inter-dependent on itself. Olga Tokarczuk

I’m aware that the call for connection is problematic in a time of division. The call for togetherness risks distracting from the need to fight for fundamental rights, freedoms and safe spaces. I don’t believe that our differences don’t matter (I do believe that our differences matter), nor do I believe that we are all the same and I’m also aware of the social, historical, economic and political differences and their struggles and how they impact all of our lives.
I suppose that gathering and creating spaces and places of connection is just the only way how I personally can deal with all of this.
Again and again, empathy reminds me that everyone has a story… no, multiple stories. That’s why I am interested in creating spaces where we can hear, express and experience these stories. To say it in the words of Kae Tempest: I love people so much. Every time I’m close to the edge, I am brought back into focus by paying deliberate attention to the people I encounter every day.

In short: I want to continue to experience, test, reflect and explore which "spaces" can be created to give different voices, bodies and practices space and room for coexistence and togetherness; how "vulnerability" can assert its "ability" and thus become a strength (Vulner-ABILITY - the ability to be vulnerable) and I want to continue working on the series in collaboration with other artists and non-artists and create „acts of tenderness“, again and again in different ways and places - and with different people. I see it as a form of learning together.
In my artistic work, I am primarily concerned with creating acts of attention, experiencing with the senses, creating encounters and connections and making them tangible for others. In addition to the major turning points in life, I am also interested in the inconspicuous, smaller, subtle moments and transformations in life and how we find "actions" to walk through them. Sometimes on our own, sometimes as a couple - and sometimes together with others in a group.
I am interested in rituals because, just like while being tender they require a moment of deep attention and respect.

(picture: jessica huber - by accident I used an old film twice and ended up with a series of pictures capturing on each picture two moments in my life - but 26 years apart)

Contributors for "I lost**": Stefan Breit, Nele Fletcher, Phil Hayes, Manon Fantini, Oli Roth, Max Huber, Frau Ettlin, Michelle Ettlin, Cédric, Jessica Huber, Guy Dale

In collaboration with Gessnerallee Zürich, Schönegg Varieté, je vous propose

*more about wet-knowledge soon