Project Project

Indice Ultraviolet: Décalage vers le rouge

Co-curation: Colin Raynal

Indice Ultraviolet: Décalage vers le rouge is the continuation of a project initiated in 2019. It is based on the concept of an imperfect “measurement” that relates artistic practices, each one resonating with its environmental context, approaching through scientific, social, political, hobbyist, idle and activism… Conceived as a biannual series of exhibitions, it is intended as an opportunity to probe certain issues (ecological, cultural and social). It starts with an idea and each new occurrence reorients itself according to the guests. If the theme of the “passion-project” was very anchored in the phase 1, which posed the base of a reflection on the relation which can link a hobby or an odd job to an artistic practice, and in this way establishes a method of production out of the studio; the core of phase 2 moves towards another form of passion, the collective engagement. By fusing their individual concerns with a personal language but also a research directed towards the other (human or non-human), the artists can provoke a shift, symbolized by the red shift of celestial bodies due to the expansion of the universe.

Each exhibition of Indice Ultraviolet is inaugurated at the beginning of the summer and refers to this period of the year when holidays starts (whether we take them or not) and where existential preoccupations and desires for relaxation can meet. Indeed, under this solar influence, ideals and questionings sometimes fade; our behaviors related to the climate emergency or our political commitment, for example, can fade in front of the quest for idleness or a beach office. In such a context of abandonment, this project presents itself as a permeable layer transmitting a sample of signals, and in so doing, can communicate the troubled atmosphere of a worried society with the futile pleasures of summer. In the form of open-ended questions, reminiscent of the structure of the symposium that served as a framework for reflection two years ago, we could continue “the discussion between coffee and dessert” with this question: How do we spend time and envision the future?

With the support of Pro Helvetia.

CAN team:
Martin Jakob, Sylvie Linder, Magali Pexa, Nicolas Raufaste, Liza Trottet, Sebastian Verdon