Claudia Comte: Hot Saw – Electric Power / Kunsthalle Basel

As part of the exhibition “New Swiss Performance Now”, Kunsthalle Basel presents Claudia Comte’s performance “Hot Saw – Electric Power”. With this work, Claudia Comte continues her investigation into different games modules, inspiration may be taken from home board-games or from more professional contexts, such as hockey games or dance professionals. The construct of teamwork, alliances, and self-help create a certain modus operandi, where the competitive aspect of the competition is eliminated and replaced by visualizing certain work processes and structures. By dislocating them from their proper environment and by breaking up the industry’s standard procedures.

Two pairs of lumberjacks are mounting, assembling, cutting and playing with a prepared pile of logs, processing it into a set of shapes, to be re-assembled on the other side of the room into an orchestrated setting of geometric forms balancing on top of each other.The four professionals, craftsmen in their own right, are creating a tower. The undeniable, and questionable claim humanity holds over nature is represented in the power of these men. They are erecting something to validate they were there, that something was made from nothing and albeit no direct function is achieved, these markers if we can call them this, become a victory of achieving in itself.

The performance is musically accompanied by Egon Elliut.

Claudia Comte: Hot Saw – Electric Power, 2018. Performance at Kunsthalle Basel, January 25, 2018.

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