A nomadic art biennial has commissioned a witty graphic identity to help visitors identify satellite exhibition venues across Zurich.
Manifesta has matched 30 artists to professionals from around the city to explore the theme of ‘What People Do For Money’ for its 2016 edition. Elements from the resulting collaborations are on display at appropriate satellite venues – which range from a five star hotel to a funeral parlour – until mid September.
Rather than burden the venues with cumbersome street signs or scruffy posters, the interdisciplinary design studio Intégral Ruedi Baur developed a graphic language inspired by the Isotypes created by Otto Neurath and Gerd Arntz in the 1930s. Simplified figures representing the working population of Zurich are rendered in vinyl and playfully integrated into the façade of each participating venue. Here, we take you on a virtual tour.
Satellite Györi
Andrea Éva Győri worked with a sex therapist and psychologist to produce an enormous body of paintings and drawings showing women masturbating, and the fantasies they used while doing so. A small selection of the works is on display at the upmarket lingerie store Risqué. Here, the signage emphasises the therapeutic aspect of the project, in contrast to the explicit and humorous nature of the pictures themselves. Risqué, Kappelergasse 15, 8001 Zurich
Satellite Margolles
Teresa Margolles has worked with transgender prostitutes in Mexico for several years. She originally wanted to set up a poker game in Zurich between them and a local sex worker but – following the murder of Karla, one of her Mexican collaborators – the nature of Margolles’ project shifted. This hotel in Zurich’s sprawling red light district hosts a memorial project to Karla. In a first-floor bedroom, a large photograph is serenaded by a recording in which Karla’s friends discuss the murder. Hotel Rothaus, Sihlhallenstrasse 1, 8004 Zurich
Satellite Tee
Exploring the relationship between body and soul, Jennifer Tee worked with the head of the Zurich Funeral and Cemetery Office, immersing herself in the world of the undertaker. This cemetery in the south of Zurich shows sculptures and funerary objects that explore the rites of death in various cultures around the world. Friedhof Enzenbühl, Forchstrasse 384, 8008 Zurich
Satellite Walter
As part of his ongoing exploration of interactive and wearable fabric works, Franz Erhard Walther collaborated with a textile developer to create new uniforms for the employees of Zurich’s Park Hyatt hotel. Within the hotel, the bright orange, one-armed garments are sported by a small selection of staff from the front of house to the technical team. Park Hyatt, Beethovenstrasse 21, 8002 Zurich
Institution Loe
Guiding visitors into the Löwenbräukunst art hub, design studio Intégral Ruedi Baur looked beyond the professions directly involved in the Manifesta projects to depict wider Zurich society. ‘In tribute to the Austrian sociologist Otto Neurath and his graphic designer Gerd Arntz, who analysed society before the Second World War, it seemed interesting to provide a similar tool to analyse the liberal society at the beginning of the 21st century,’ explains Baur. Löwenbräukunst, Limmatstrasse 270, 8005 Zurich
Institution Loe
‘The theme of Manifesta 11 – What People Do For Money – called for an appropriate graphic response,’ says Baur. Together with his studio he developed Isotypes for contemporary archetypes that include ‘the beggar, the waitress, the business women and rich daddy’s girl, the policeman, the protester, the garbage collector, the dole recipient and of course the artist.’ Here they are seen making their way into the Löwenbräukunst. Löwenbräukunst, Limmatstrasse 270, 8005 Zurich
Institution Loe
Concealing building works taking place at the Löwenbräukunst, the contemporary Isotypes developed by Baur and his team explicitly mirror the visitors to Manifesta as they queue to get into the exhibition. ‘This tool allows us to meet the needs of Manifesta 11, both in its communication and as signage,’ says Baur. ‘But it also has an autonomous force which speaks far beyond its needs, of the social reality of a world in crisis.’ Löwenbräukunst, Limmatstrasse 270, 8005 Zurich
Satellite Arnold
John Arnold’s Imbissy project plays on the English word ‘Embassy’ and the German ‘Imbiss’ (snackbar). Arnold researched significant diplomatic meals in Zurich history – such as the visit of the Haile Selassie – and worked with a chef to adapt the menus to be served by local Imbisse with appropriate national links, such as this Thai fast food joint. Phuket Asia Center, Schöneggstrasse 21, 8004 Zurich, and others
Satellite Congost
Accessible for only three hours a day, Carles Congost’s work was created with the help of fireman at a Zurich fire station, where it is also being exhibited. A mockumentary film shows the firemen going through training, and planning a fundraiser at which they hope to host the singer Tina Turner. Ideals of selfless labour and service are held up against the desire to make a fast buck and retire early. Feuerwehr Stadt Zürich Schutz & Rettung, Weststrasse 4, 8003 Zurich
Satellite Floyer
In tribute to Manifesta’s polyglot host country, Ceal Floyer worked with a professional translator to look into the social conventions bound up in languages and what gets lost in translation. In the work ‘Romance’, two translators communicate English text into the romance languages of Italian and French. From the façade of Zurich University, a translator watches behind glass from the first floor, as if overlooking the goings on at a political forum. Universität Zürich, Künstlergasse 12, 8001 Zurich
