Schwache Ölspuren im Sandstein (Faint Traces of Oil in Sandstone) – Days of an Elapsed Future

For several years now such questions have intrigued the artist duo Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller who have been drawing attention to the burning issue of energy through their work. […]

Two horses and a pair of Levi’s

Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller were recently awarded the Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim-Stiftung prize. Part of the prize involves an exhibition in the Zurich Kunstraum Walcheturm. Here, as part of the opening ceremony, a performance concerning horsepower – a basic unit of energy – took place involving two horses. The connection with the oil issue, however, was more complex.

Between the two horses, a pair of Levi’s is stretched, replicating the image on the back of the trousers. The emergence of the cult label coincided with the U.S. oil boom. However, unlike in the advertisement, the jeans are torn apart as the horses are led away from each other. The logo is subjected to a fierce tug and loses its enchantment.

Oil drilling in Schwyz

Yet what does this clever performance have to do with the exhibition title «faint traces of oil in sandstone»? This is explained by a glance at the video in the adjoining room. Here, an excerpt from the conservative seventies screen adaptation of Kurt Guggenheim’s novel «Riedland» about oil prospecting in Schwyz in 1925 is showing. Into this recording, scenes from a Hollywood film about a Texan oil tycoon, starring James Dean, have been inserted. Perhaps, suggests the mashup, the Swiss film might have been shot more glamorously if oil had been found in Schwyz.

In Kunstraum Walcheturm, Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller add to their historico-cultural research concerning the energy issue another rather profound chapter, and also include within this a homage to the sponsor of their award.

Barbara Basting, with two horsepower against a myth, SRF 22.01.2013