Intrigued and inspired by the myths of the canton of Valais (Switzerland), recalling the stories of lost souls (Arme Seelen), trapped and frozen in the ice at the moment of their death, Anna Katharina Scheidegger offers her interpretation of these customs and traditions. For the series head of roses, she casts her own face in ice using silicone moulds and creates images which are both frightening and poetic. Her discovery back in 2011 of the technique of wrapping Swiss glaciers in tarpaulin to prevent UV rays from melting them gave rise to a striking work using a large format view camera. Landscapes of snow and rock emerge from her pictures, wrapped and bandaged in white fabric. This is not a case of land art, but a real environmental intervention. The artist has continued her research, attempting to repaint the mountains white (Film, White Out), a determined act, however absurd and never-ending. Elsewhere, the lost souls consumed by the glaciers reappear floating, drifting and dancing through space, enabling us to explore our beliefs and the cycle of nature.
Scientific, lyrical, expressionist and minimalist in turn, Anna Katharina Scheidegger’s work displays the hallmarks of aestheticism detached from conventions, occasionally flirting with the limits of seduction, but always characterised by a tangible sense of gravity. The artist makes us take stock of both the environment and our own identity.
As proposed by Emmanuelle Walter | | La Filature, National Scene, Mulhouse and the Sagaprojects
