In this video, Roman Ondák talks about his work Swap, which was presented at 14 Rooms, the Live Art exhibition that ran concurrently with Art Basel in Basel 2014.
About the work: A performer sits behind a table like a vendor, with an object he brings along. Once the first visitor enters the room, the performer tries to swap his object with any object the visitor might be carrying with him and which he is willing to give up in exchange for the performer’s object. This sets in motion an endless chain of barter and communication which will go on for the entire duration of the exhibition.
14 Rooms was presented by Fondation Beyeler, Art Basel, and Theater Basel. The curators Klaus Biesenbach and Hans Ulrich Obrist invited fourteen international artists to each activate a room, exploring the relationship between space, time, and physicality with an artwork whose “material” is the human being.
Roman Ondák in conversation with Mirjam Baitsch (Fondation Beyeler). 14 Rooms Live Art Exhibition. Messe Basel, Basel (Switzerland), June 12, 2014.
More videos covering 14 Rooms coming soon, including an interview with Roman Ondák.
> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.