Y 2

2017, Zurich, Switzerland

Giclée print on baryta, 64 x 94 cm

The architects and artists of the 1970s set a monument to the applicability of concrete in their form-finding. "Beton brut" thus produced buildings that, with their large-scale concrete walls, corresponded to the avant-garde thinking of the time and were celebrated as a new aesthetic. Nowadays, when pure concrete buildings appear that no longer fully meet the contemporary tastes of the general public, helpers are quickly found who make tasteful adjustments by sweeping paint cans. Unfortunately, what is often lost in the process is the color coordination of the individual enhancement measures. This makes for colorful variety in the overall work, but makes deeper color understanding more difficult.

The location for the photographs is the Zurich Allmend under the entrance to the Üetliberg tunnel. The massive concrete pillars and the underside of the dynamically guided roadways create a unique spatial effect. The structure stands massively in the winter color-reduced landscape. The site often serves as a location for after-parties in the summer. The wide, gray surfaces invite graffiti artists to be creative.

The photographs show the contrast between the monochrome surroundings and the colorful graffiti, in addition to the architectural features of the place.

The perspective of the three-dimensional support media - in this case the bridge piers - forms the creative framework through the orderly structure in the photographs, whereas the graffiti are generally not space-forming objects. Rather, they create a colorful, decorative layer that often works against the strict geometry of the buildings.

The photos show the special atmosphere of the concrete buildings in their natural environment. They merge into a single entity and appear rather desaturated. Contrasting with this are the colorful graffiti, which follow a uniform color concept through adjustments in post-processing. The decorative, two-dimensional effect contrasts with the functional, space-creating design of the concrete structures.