nine to five: Dagmar Weiss – Personal Training (2017–)

täglich vom 19.–31. Mai 2020, von 21 bis 5 Uhr am Grand Palais

Die nomadische Ausstellungsreihe «nine to five» schlägt einen alternativen Raum und eine andere Zeitlogik vor: In unregelmässigen Intervallen zeigen Künstlerinnen und Künstler ihre bewegten Bilder im öffentlichen Raum: jeweils an mehreren aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen, wochentags wie an Wochenenden, von 21.00 Uhr bis 5.00 Uhr im Loop an der Fassade des Grand Palais. Curated by Deborah Müller

In Dagmar Weiss‘ video work “Personal Training”, the foyer of a major bank or insurance company is seemingly transformed into a fitness studio: The absurd, repetitive action combined with the persistent physical strength of the performance suggests a new kind of exercise. But the performer’s inexpressive face and the endless repetition of her exercise soon turn into a disturbing obsession. The performer’s anonymous grey suit and the generic environment imply that her mania for measurability, maximization, intensity and success does not belong exclusively to the world of body builders or employees. By drawing lines between the body builder and the employee as emblematic figures of our society, the illusion of a supposedly intrinsic self-optimization as self-realization is taken to extremes: The performance becomes a global cipher, and our desire to interpret it as an anarchic gesture of freedom seems unmasked. To what extent is it possible to free oneself from the milieu, clothing or objects of action (like an “innocent” handbag) that surround us and that seem to dictate a certain form of behavior?

The nomadic exhibition series “nine to five” proposes an alternative space and a different time logic: At irregular intervals, various artists present their moving images in public space. Each video will be projected on the façade of Grand Palais on several consecutive days, on weekdays and weekends, from 9 pm to 5 am in a loop.

Image credits: © Nico Müller/Grand Palais, 2020.