Friart – Contradictory Statements

Michèle Graf & Selina Grüter

3 – 17 March 2018

Michèle Graf & Selina Grüter, Contradictory Statements, 2018. Photo: Gina Folly

The exhibition Contradictory Statements consists of a platform, a recurring spoken word performance, its transcription, its text projected on the wall, an online pad communicating the text in German and its translation into English and French, and a poster using the typeface Marianne Baum hanging in the adjacent room.

At its heart is the performance Contradictory Statements, which takes place during Friart opening hours throughout the duration of the exhibition. Six performers stand on the platform. The first starts by stating the only rule, a reference to John Miller’s 1977 video work: “In this piece, each person will contradict the person that came before”. Each then contradicts the performer speaking before them, generating a never-ending improvised dialogue. This dialogue has no theme and has the potential to cover any topic. Within the confines and latitude of its own premise, it is as predictable as it is unpredictable.

Michèle Graf and Selina Grüter (*1987, *1991, Zurich, Switzerland) are based in Berlin and Zurich. Recent exhibitions and performances include Throws and Catches, Plymouth Rock, Zurich (2017); Lunar Intervals, Swiss Institute New York City/Emily Harvey Foundation, New York City (2017); in relation to a Spectator:, Kestnergesellschaft, Hanover (2017); Rehearsing Intra-Activity, LISTE Performance Project, Basel (2017) and Unruly Relations, Kunsthaus Glarus (2016). Graf and Grüter co-run the artist-run space Taylor Macklin in Zurich.