Planetarische Bauern

Zurich-based artist duo Andres Lutz (born 1968 in Wettingen, Switzerland) and Anders Guggisberg (born 1966 in Bienne, Switzerland) have been enriching the art world for almost thirty years with their exuberant installations. Drawing from an ever-growing pool of used, everyday and archaic materials, they transform these components in an almost alchemical process into sculptural and model-like worlds. Humour and philosophical depth are inseparable in their work. Schollen aus der Vogelschau consists of several miniature landscapes positioned at knee height, inviting inspection from above. A 1950s heating unit is transformed into a modernist church tower, a gutted kitchen fan into a futuristic pavilion, and the thatched roof of a birdhouse into a piece of monumental architecture. Wooden beads, sponges and dried moss are combined with aerial photography and video footage from the Halle district to simulate industrial sites, urban landscapes and dystopian wastelands. In these unexpected juxtapositions of discarded materials, we see poetic potential and the understated appeal of ecological sustainability unfold.