Currents
(2011)

http://thomaskneubuhler.com

--- Präsentationshinweise  DE:

Der  Videoparcour fand vom 20.05 bis zum 21.06. 2015  zwischen 9 bis 24 Uhr statt. videocity.bs hat neue Wege des  Miteinanders von Kultur und Geschäftswelt erschlossen. 16 Geschäfte und kulturelle Institutionen öffnen für 27  Videokünstler*innen  ihre Schaufenster, Hallen  oder elektronischen Werbetafeln. Sie bilden einen Parcours zwischen Messeplatz, Marktplatz,  Aeschenvorstadt  und St. Jakobsstadion. Die Videos lassen den Alltag in neuem Licht erscheinen und umgekehrt der Alltag die Videos. videovity.bs wird einen Monat lang  zum immateriellen Bestandteil der Stadt und regt zu unerwarteten  Begegnungen an.

Es gab dabei folgende Stadtionen:  Congress Center Basel/eBoard, Kulturbüro Basel, Elektrohaus Boner, Basler Lädeli, GLOBUS, Banque CIC (Suisse) AG, Claudia Güdel, Confiserie Bachmann, Nationale Suisse, Der Teufelhof Basel, Stadtcasino,  Theater Basel, Basler Kantonalbank, Kunsthaus  Baselland, und St. Jakobsturm

Die teilnehmenden Künstler*innen waren: Dominik Stauch, Pipilotti Rist, Ursula Palla, Yves Netzhammer, Franziska Megert, Christian Jankowski, Tom Huber, Michael Spahr, HEAD, Mathis Vass, Jeannette Ehlers, Diana Dodson, Hildegard Spielhofer, Thomas Kneubühler, Manuel Szabo.  

--- Presentation notes EN: 

The Videoparcour took place from 20.05 to 21.06.2015 between 9 a.m. and midnight. videocity.bs has opened up new ways of interaction between culture and the business world. 16 shops and cultural institutions open their shop windows, halls or electronic billboards for 27 video artists. They form a parcour between Messeplatz, Marktplatz, Aeschenvorstadt and St. Jakobsstadion. The videos present everyday life in a new light and vice versa. For one month videocity.bs becomes an immaterial part of the city and encourages unexpected encounters.

The following institutions were part in the project:  Congress Center Basel/eBoard, Kulturbüro Basel, Elektrohaus Boner, Basler Lädeli, GLOBUS, Banque CIC (Suisse) AG, Claudia Güdel, Confiserie Bachmann, Nationale Suisse, Der Teufelhof Basel, Stadtcasino, Theater Basel, Basler Kantonalbank, Kunsthaus Baselland, St. Jakobsturm. 

The participating artists were: Dominik Stauch, Pipilotti Rist, Ursula Palla, Yves Netzhammer, Franziska Megert, Christian Jankowski, Tom Huber, Michael Spahr, HEAD, Mathis Vass, Jeannette Ehlers, Diana Dodson, Hildegard Spielhofer, Thomas Kneubühler, Manuel Szabo.    

In his video "Currents" Thomas Kneubühler addresses the consequences of hydroelectric plants in Canada and their consequences for both workers and indigenous peoples, Inuit and Cree. The artist describes the area of northern Quebec as follows: „a no man’s land, in which the workers become nomads and the indigenous people are relocated due to installations:“ The title of "Currents" refers to two dynamics which are seen in the landscape there: The natural current of the river, which is described in poetic language versus the artificial current of the powerlines that invade nature. Both the river and electric currents share a few common traits, they both follow the path of least resistance. Both of them shape the land around them and influence its inhabitants. Nevertheless the two dynamics could not be different. Where the river is a source of spirituality and poetry, the power plants represent loss of identity, home and cultural upbringing. Thomas Kneubühler and his video show us the morally questionable impact of human use of nature.

Tyrone Richards