AH: For some years now I have been closely studying the Russian avantgarde of the early 20th century, which included visions of new humans, a new humankind for the future (under communism).
As my starting point, I took Kasimir Malevich’s late paintings of farmers created in 1927. Although the pictures show lonesome and faceless farmers in their fields, the representations nevertheless emit a metallic glow reminiscent of Russian icons. I found this contradiction fascinating. How can the connection to nature (or rather the loss of this connection) embodied by the peasants and new technology of that era (the industrialisation of agriculture) be transmitted and conveyed in our day and age by means of pictures and materials?
At Lobra, a firm (situated in Thal and, as it happens, bordering onto fields) that specialises in processing and customising various film and sheet materials, I punched and cut various forms out of retro-reflecting material and laminated them onto natural materials such as jute and linen. Thanks to its high level of visibility, retro-reflecting material is also used for reflecting heat (thus for thermal protection shields) in many areas. It is a material for the future, with its reflection and efficiency factors constantly being improved.
As the firm also prints the logos of well-known companies on sheet material, I took up the idea of branding and developed various logo-like forms and patterns from the sickle and the fist used as symbols by the communists. The patterns for their part are also vaguely reminiscent of the embroidery on rural Russian costumes.
I then retroactively decided on the concept of using the “garment” objects as costumes for a piece of theatre – an imaginary collaboration between Bertolt Brecht and Kasimir Malevich –, which in 1927, the year of its imaginary production, gives voice to criticism of re-education plans to bring forth a “new Soviet person”. On the costumes, the communist sickle becomes a purely decorative element, which deprives it of its symbolic function. The fist, on the other hand, can exert its impact as a symbol of resistance beyond the Soviet or communist age.

AH: I had already written the script, in other words the play, for the publication in April/May 2020 (during lockdown). So the idea to use “costume” objects for a theatre piece was already there in my mind. The historical texts were added later. The publication, which combines historical research, fiction and poetry, is both part of the overall work and a stand-alone edition. The “costumes” are sculptures, but can also be worn, for example at a performance.
Text and images in the publication contain references to one another. The text alludes to contemporary issues (state of crisis / art as a virus), although the narrative takes place in 1927. I also integrated elements and symbols we know from internet pages into the layout. They contribute to the interplay of different time levels.
The arrangement of the sickles worked into the “costumes” can be reminiscent of calligraphy. Owing to the retro-reflective material’s high degree of radiance in the dark, individual objects disappear in the dark, leaving only silhouettes to be seen.
Having to give up my original plan of realising the project idea by means of screen printing ultimately allowed me to try out other methods in a freer and more playful manner. Seeing how the specialist firms, too, keep on experimenting, was exciting and inspiring for me. The fresh insights and knowledge I’ve gained of new technologies and materials have led me to consider designing an entire stereoscopic image for the exhibition.

AH: The Russian avantgarde was well ahead of its time. Already during the Russian revolution (1917), artists were applying their experimental practice to numerous fields of production, such as advertising, product design, fashion, architecture, and theatre as well as industrial manufacturing. They designed textiles, everyday objects, forms of packaging, etc. In brief, artists developed entirely new aesthetics of everyday life. The “new soviet person” was to experience a higher quality of life thanks to superior design, liberate his or her body from tight clothing and be given more scope for the design of new forms of community life. Education was a key point in this context. At the theatre and in performances held in public spaces, the masses were to be educated and thereby develop greater political and social awareness. However, at the textual and content level of my work that you refer to, the “programme” publication is more about the failure of this revolution, which had been built on ideas of radically changing society for the better, but ultimately betrayed its own ideals. The texts deal with different interpretations of truths: progress vs. tradition, party doctrine vs. religion, real/tangible vs. intangible or imagined realities, and show that the borderlines are always blurred, as they are to this day.
The topic of revolution is constantly with us – we are today in a situation of global crisis – and this raises questions about humans in the future. The retro-reflective material (the publication cover) makes the past era appear closer, like in the rear mirror of a car, nearly blinding us with its gleam.

AH: In the publication, the “performance” takes place in one’s imagination: In the final picture, the peasants step out of the corn fields, in other words out of their reality, and onto a stage, where they cultivate the (stage) ground. So one has to ask where the borderline is between reality and fiction during the piece. This imaginary space is very important. In a previous work, I had one of the participants wear one of my objects, called the “Siren Suit” (2020), in a film. In the post-production phase, I developed an entire choreography for several dancers out of this short sequence of movement. There will also be a film about “Die Bauern (1927)”. In an exhibition-like setting, the exhibits are installed like costumes in a history museum. Together, this results in a tableau – as described in the publication. Viewers will trigger a sensor in the exhibition room through their movements, and this will make the exhibits that are reflecting in the dark rotate like in a mechanical ballet. A programmed light is linked to the movements, and a random generator will ensure that all variations are presented. Like in a museum, texts from the programme are displayed on walls and or on screens. And there is also a film.

AH: Most of all, I appreciated the opportunity to gain insights into the history, production and distribution of various firms – and their drive for innovation. Relations as neighbours and the interplay of local and global factors as well as of technology and tradition have a long history in the cantons of Appenzell and St. Gallen. Being introduced to new techniques and production methods, as well as the exchange with specialists, proved to be an exciting and challenging experience, especially in view of all the options it opened up for my project. I would have liked to have had more time to explore them. The firms experiment a lot when researching new methods, materials and processes. This is where interfaces to art open up. On the other hand, I received only vague answers from the firms to my questions regarding new environmental awareness that is necessary for the manufacturing processes. Partly for that reason, maybe, my work “Die Bauern (1927)” was largely realised by hand. The film and sheet material consisted mainly of leftovers from industrialised punching, supplemented by other forms produced in low numbers with a small punch press. The supporting materials such as jute bags and old linen came from thrift stores. Since we were pioneers as TaDA residents, everything was open and an experiment, which suited me very well. I hope that eventually there will be a possibility for me to display all the existing and still to be completed works in a presentation or exhibition.

Tradition, Technology and Fate

The topic "Disappearance of traditional techniques" is important for me, because my professional career started at the textile company Jakob Schlaepfer in Eastern Switzerland and already then I could see how many companies had disappeared.
The tradition of textile production has had a strong impact on me. In 2018 I made my first attempts to have embroidery punches of earlier designs embroidered at the Lohnstickerei Daniel Rüdlinger in Balgach. As I have been living in Amsterdam since 2017, I was not able to pursue this work.
During my residency, I re-established contact with Daniel Rüdlinger and interviewed more embroiderers. Likewise, visiting the twelve partner companies of the TaDA residency brought me new insights, which I wrote down. I transferred this text material into an actual dialogue between the Fates, the three goddesses of fate: So Clotho, who spins the thread of life in Greek mythology, says things like, "The machines are so loud, aren't they going too fast? We are going to lose precision." Or: "But we have to make the carpet for the Saudi Prince and continue weaving history." The dialogue represents a critical examination of today's global textile industry.
For me, the focus always remains on human fate, which is why the sentence "the tenderness of the workers" is at the beginning of the text. I address the fact that textile production is not something abstract, but ultimately always work that people do. That's why I'm arguing for more modesty and humility.
I am interested in the interplay between craft and technology, in the complex relationship between handmade and machine-made products. In embroidery, I'm fascinated by the fact that what is handmade is often more precise than the work of the machine. And yet I find it exciting what machines can offer, how they allow me different and new dimensions. My work is process oriented, much emerges in the making and in the possibilities that arise along the way.
For the project The Fates Are Talking I wanted to explore the textile history of Eastern Switzerland through the work of embroidery and how it has changed, what mechanization has meant for production but also for the wages of the embroiderer or the puncher, what speed and working on machines have meant for them. I decided to create a fairly large-scale textile installation that would incorporate a fragment of this history and these questions.
For the embroidery, I collaborated with Saurer AG (Arbon). This allowed me to explore the relationship between materiality and the written word. I was interested in transforming text into textile, bringing the writing and the language as well as the information into the textile. Through punching I was able to work with the relationship of the line and its transfer on material. Through embroidery I wanted to bring back to life the sensuality lacking in the digital world. My basic interest lay in punching and exploring this sensual experience. What motivates me is to disseminate the immaterial by making it tangible again.

Textiles as a Means of Communication

A significant inspiration for my work is a text by the art historian and collector Seth Siegelaub (1941-2013), who points out that textiles not only serve as objects of commerce, but also always function as means of communication. In "A Very Speculative but Brief Note on Textiles and Society (1997)”, Siegelaub describes the communicative dimension of textiles and refers to the universal claim of the term "fabric". This reading experience encouraged me to bring my practical experience with the textile industry of Eastern Switzerland into a dialogue with historical events and legends.
Siegelaub also explains in his text how textiles played a fundamental role in the rise of the capitalist system and the industrial revolution. In my opinion, this connection continues into today's digitization processes.
I see my fascination of craft and hands-on working as a counterbalance to screen presence and a life dictated by algorithms. While making by hand, everything happens: I discover, analyze, and realize. I move forward. I produce a lot in order to find the right track in my search. My ongoing inquiry involves constant trial and error, allowing new content and new substance to emerge. Physical engagement with matter is important because it allows to put all my energy into my work.

The Fates Are Talking

I wrote The Fates Are Talking as a contemporary dialogue between the goddesses of Greek mythology who assign our fate to us at birth. Clotho spins the thread, Lachesis measures it, Atropos cuts it. This fictional conversation is embroidered on a five meter long transparent fabric. It can be read as a critical examination of today's global textile industry, in which large quantities of textiles are produced for clients with, in my view, absurd wishes - for example a client who wanted a carpet for his falcons (!).
But this is also about personal stories and memories related to care, which appear for instance in Faust, Part Two as the fourth goddess, who demands more modesty and humility. The large piece of fabric I chose was worked on with an embroidery machine, which normally uses high speed and 168 needles. By using only one needle, the machine work slowed down a lot and took on a different mood, a much more individual and "patient" touch. The typeface of the text was adjusted after the initial tests. I saw that it needed more to make the piece contemporary. A new typo was then designed with Fraser Muggeridge Studio London. This in turn had an impact on the punching and allowed for clearer, more precise threading.

Aesthetics of the Punch Image (Micro - Macro)

Whether in fabric or embroidery, it is the thread or line that draws the path that the needle has to complete on the machine. During the TaDA residency, I learned how to punch at Saurer in Arbon. Punching is the technical term for digitizing the design of preliminary drawings that will be embroidered. Punching is crucial for the subsequent quality of the embroidery.
I am particularly fascinated by the punch card and punching in embroidery, the abstraction of the images created by the enlargement. I am interested in both, the visually transferred, technical, geometric representation as well as the steps that are required to achieve the final result. I like the contrast between the visual language (the code, so to speak) and the final product. What motivates me, as I said, is to make the immaterial tangible.
Therefore, the most important steps for production were learning how to punch and how to operate the machines with the help of the company staff. My interest in the production processes is also related to my relationship with workers in other factories and workshops. I often pursue almost forgotten knowledge and skills. I want to breathe new life into the crafts of the past, make them sustainable, use them to celebrate memories and develop new possibilities.
As a time-traveller in this sense, I recall the crafts and sensations of the past and make them visible, tangible, experiential for life in what threatens to become a dematerialized future.
In this creation process, collecting as many different yarns as possible was essential, as the tension of the yarn has a great influence on the visual impact and flow of the text. Obviously, this meant that the process required countless tests. During the process I also worked with Lobra AG to test the size of the embroidery layout and see the type in its original size.

Embroidery alphabet.

During the TaDA residency, I taught the students of the elementary course in design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy (online). I introduced them to embroidery techniques with the goal of jointly developing a typeface and sampler. Everyone was asked to design one letter each to create a contemporary embroidery alphabet. It was implemented on a 5.20 meter cotton fabric with an embroidery machine at Saurer AG. I was awed by the result.

Bronze and Aluminum

In the Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen I learned how to work with bronze and aluminum. This has has opened new ways of working for me. To explore new materials and sculptural techniques, I also began combining embroidery and weaving with bronze and aluminum. I experimented with the " Cire Perdue" ("lost wax") technique. During the working process, both the model and the mould are destroyed. I had dipped my weavings and embroideries in wax and melted them out. This allowed me to search for detailed textile metal sculptures. I did this by making the "speech bubble frames" out of aluminum using the sand casting process at the Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen. I became even more aware of how essential to my work the working process actually is.The series of sculptures I want to make next is based on a technique I discovered while casting wax in the foundry. Working with molds made me realize their potential as sculpture. Normally I destroy these by-products after casting aluminum. But now I have used these counter-moulds as a starting point for my next research. In summer 2021 I made such blocks / boxes out of clay at the European Ceramic Workcenter (sundaymorning.ekwc.nl) and poured glaze into the cracks. I am attracted to transforming this process and thus making waste the starting point of innovation, following the circular economy.
Such experiences have now led to other processes with waste as a starting point and using them for innovation. Circular economy is a methodology that I also strive for as much as possible in my work. In the present, the past ends - and the future begins. It is an interface.Although the product for the current work step is created in the process, the ideas for the next project are created at the same time. With the production process for one piece, I develop ideas for the next one.

St.Galler Tröckneturm

The inspiration for the idea of an installation with the St.Gallen Tröckneturm came through historical photographs of Tröcknetürme in Glarus. There is practically no picture material from the inside of the St.Gallen tower.
It was necessary for me to revive the tower and to create a visible textile sign in the public space. While working at Jakob Schlaepfer AG earlier, I had seen the tower daily on my way to work. Unfortunately, this installation was not possible in December 2020, because swallows inhabit the Tröckneturm.
However, I have not given up on my idea and I was very happy when Knill Paul Architekt BSA contacted me to suggest the Black House in Herisau as a place for the installation. I also remain in contact with TDS Textildruckerei in Arbon and Lobra AG in Thal, who want to support and realize my installation idea. The temporary work would be an enrichment in the recently opened Burgweier Park: it tells of the past and present of the textile industry and brings temporary art into the public space in St.Gallen.