urs august steiner
Urs August Steiner “S01E08 Exposure”
Meriansaal, Brasserie Spitz Basel, 2021
The specially for the Meriansaal developed and during the Art Basel 2021 accessible room filling installation not only refers to the historic background of the location but also to Steiners long-time research & special interest around the desire for immortality. During a research trip, Steiner visited the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona. The institution offers the cryonization of the human body in order to bring it back from cold sleep in the distant future. For the solo exhibition at the Meriansaal, Steiner worked with an old photographic printing process called cyanotype and created a series of prints on watercolour paper. The substrate used, was taken from the last exposed original sandstone wall in the basement of the building from the 19th century and serves as basis and main connection to the history of the location and ever lasting grounds.
With S01E08 Exposure, Urs August Steiner choreographs the assembly and ballroom of Brasserie Spitz with a room-filling installation. Two oversized blue fabric panels are hung across the corner and cover part of the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the center of the hall, a black-and-white checkered circular shape is placed, filled with smoke. The replaced bulbs in the imposing chandeliers bathe the room in cool blue light in the evening. Known by the name "Café Spitz", the town's social center was built from 1838 to 1840 according to plans by architect Amadeus Merian. The building has an eventful history, having been the victim of several fires, extensions and reconstructions, and having changed its name several times.
Urs August Steiner's installations are usually site-specific and fan out a variously linked narrative in space. In his most recent work, he refers to the historical background of the classicist building. At the same time, he pursues his long-standing interest around the desire for immortality. S01E08 Exposure is part of his long-term project "Non Crystal", which deals with transience and infinity, and ultimately probably also with the need not to be forgotten. The dream of eternal life has a long tradition - think of the considerable efforts that were made, for example, in connection with the burial chambers of ancient Egypt. As technology advances, this utopia seems within reach thanks to scientific visions of the future such as cryonics. Known since early science fiction literature, the desire to freeze the body and revive it as needed in the future is being explored in reality by the cryonic movement.
