As part of the Switzerland Guest of Honour programme, a series of digital projections on the Grand Palais façade will showcase a highly innovative generation of Swiss artists including Camille Scherrer, Alan Bogana and Yves Netzhammer, three artists whose origins are representative of three of Switzerland’s four different linguistic and cultural regions, respectively French, Italian and German-speaking Switzerland.

ECAL graduate Camille Scherrer (b. 1984, Château d’Oex; lives and works in Ollon, Vaud) marries to perfection a taste for modern technology and her ties to the region of her birth. Camille’s imaginary world finds inspiration in the chequered tablecloths and fauna of the mountains of her childhood, elements which are expressed in interactive, figurative animations – part human, part animal – that are steeped in folklore. This artist, who has even made real birds tweet (@Follow The Birds), feels just as at home exhibiting in the barns around Rossinière (Vaud) as at the MoMa in New York. Her project is supported by the Canton of Vaud.

In a very short time indeed, Yves Netzhammer (b. 1970, Schaffouse; lives and works in Zurich), who represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale in 2007, has made a name for himself on the international scene as a video artist, thanks mainly to his unique, minimalist iconographic vocabulary. Mouse in hand he creates scenarios from scratch that question the place of the individual in society and blur the boundaries between reality, fiction and the world of dreams. His surreal and disturbing animations are open to many interpretations and yet seem strangely familiar. His project in Paris is supported by Analix Forever Gallery as well as by Ronald Asmar & Romain Jordan.

Geneva-based Alan Bogana (b. 1979, Faido) was born in Switzerland’s only Italian-speaking canton. Since graduating from HEAD, he has been fortunate enough to be offered numerous residencies (Cape Town, Rome, Paris, Zoug and Bern in Switzerland and San Francisco in 2018). His work focuses on the real and fictional exploration of light and its interaction with matter. Using computer generated images to simulate “impossible” phenomena or carrying out experimental manipulations with translucent and phosphorescent materials are just two of the methods he uses to hone his visual investigations and to question our perception of reality.

Programme curated by Karine Tissot, guest curator for Switzerland Guest of Honour. Projections every night throughout the duration of the fair from 8.30 pm to midnight.

With the support of: