EROS 24/7, curator / artistiek directeur Elias Kirsche (Basel, CH)

Between October 14 and 22, 2021, EROS took place 24/7 near the French/Swiss border near Basel, Switzerland, in the village of Illtal, France.

The aim of this project residency was for an interdisciplinary and mixed group of artists and non-artists to explore for eight days how erotic phenomena such as desire, seduction, lust, devotion, jealousy, play, and death influence the inspiration and production of art. Artistic means included the erogenous body itself, the written and spoken word, voice, movement, and musical and visual techniques. What does eroticism mean to us in its cultural-historical dimension? What role does Eros play in art, which, following Plato and Socrates, mediates between the human and divine worlds (cf. "Symposium")? Using erotic art from different eras and cultures, contemporary interpretations and implementations were to be presented.

Two video performance projects were created in collaboration with Thomas Zollinger, Philemo Murkano, Elisabeth Schär, Tobias Gürtler, and Mark Lüthi. I also participated in several projects developed by the other participating artists.

COCOON - Naked State Project 07/08 - 17/08/2018 , Bare Oaks, East Gwillimbury, Ontario L0G 1V0, Canada 

The aim of this 10-day project was to create artworks that explore the nude human body in context of nature, culture and art. For the duration of the residency, the artists creating works that explore questions such as: What is nudity? Does stripping away clothing rid us of class, gender, and personal expression?; Do the connections between our bodies and the land change when nude? Is nudity always sexual? What is the role of the nude in historical and contemporary art?. Is it possible to be civil in the nude?; Is there a natural state for human being? Residents work individually or collaboratively to create artworks that explore these questions through media of their choice, such as photography, video, installation, drawing, painting, performance art, dance, sound art, media art, etc.

Peel Off / Ablösen - This live and video performance was performed with Wiebke Kahn and with Tanja Wilking (Rodinmuse)

 A couple, a onion. A silent metaphor about relations, communi-cation and the hidden insides and inner strife's. Layer for layer is peeled off . However did they create any connection with each other. Such as had any verbal communication or by touching. Did they became any closer at the end and to feel somewho connected with each other after the last layer is gone.