Seen by Shadows

Marina Kottler – Seen by Shadows

Having a particular interest in research and curation, I have designed scenography to showcase a selection of objects in the shadows. This work is a continuation of my dissertation Une promenade dans l’ombre.

My goal being to create a sensory exhibition, I based my work on Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows in which the author invites us to become aware of details that are only perceived in the shadows. Thanks to the latter, the senses are awakened, and objects offer their discreet beauty, imperceptible at first sight. Tanizaki writes: “We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates… Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.”

Diploma project (2021) by Marina Kottler

Assistants
Giulia Amélie Chéhab
Know-how
Scenography
hwk934g7.jpg
Video
fnc3bp9u.jpg
Video
wgdyxaat.jpg
Video

Projects related to Scenography

Eliot Dubi – JUST IN CASE

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Eliot Dubi – JUST IN CASE

by Eliot Dubi

At the individual level, we can neither predict nor prevent the next disaster; we can only arm ourselves with the right reflexes to face it. JUST IN CASE is a website that gathers, through four scenarios — large wildfires, dam failures, industrial accidents and earthquakes — the key actions to remember when everything turns upside down. A clear tree-like navigation, concise texts and flat-style illustrations keep learning accessible without resorting to sensationalism. A triptych of posters promotes the site to the wider public. Designed for a generation flooded with anxiety-fuelled alerts, the project turns worry into simple, immediate actions — just in case.

Folklore Fusion

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Folklore Fusion

with Pauline Saglio

Folklore Fusion – a CGI character project developed by students in Bachelor Media & Interaction Design at ECAL, exploring the creative collision between Japanese and Swiss folklore through the lens of contemporary visual storytelling.

Dorian Pangallo – Sublime Démocratie

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Dorian Pangallo – Sublime Démocratie

by Dorian Pangallo

In an era where crises follow one another and justify a state of permanent exception, Sublime Democracy is a critical multimedia campaign portraying democracies stripped of their foundations, yet upheld by persistent symbols sustaining the illusion. Designed as a contemporary fable, the work draws on precise presidential speeches and polished visuals, integrating AI as the engine of a critical process where falsehood becomes language. By playing with the codes of power, it questions our habituation to fear, authority, and dominant narratives.

Flora Hayoz – FACE À FACE

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Flora Hayoz – FACE À FACE

by Flora Hayoz

FACE À FACE is an exploration of loneliness through two mediums: dance and graphic design. This project brings together two practices to give shape to a hybrid creation. On one hand, a choreographic piece co-choreographed with Gaia Menchini, centred on states of loneliness and then captured on video. The second medium is a publication that extends the piece. By questioning the book as an object, it is designed to be read by two people and becomes a tool for dialogue and listening. The publication thus diverts from its usual uses, creating a sensory experience. The two media interact with each other, inviting us to experience solitude both in movement and in the sharing of reading. Thus, FACE À FACE offers an experience where solitude becomes the starting point for an encounter.

The Indecisive Moment – 2025

BA PHOTOGRAPHY

The Indecisive Moment – 2025

with Jaya Pelupessy

This exhibition presents the outcome of a five-day workshop led by artist Jaya Pelupessy, where students explored the unstable terrain between creation and reproduction. Through hands-on experiments with various duplication methods and strategies of appropriation, the workshop invited a reconsideration of the image—not as a final product, but as a process, a question, a site of continuous transformation. Embracing moments of uncertainty, trial and error, and unexpected discovery, participants focused on what Pelupessy calls The Indecisive Moment: the in-between phase where outcomes are unclear and intention is disrupted by chance. These works reflect a shift from the pursuit of fixed meaning toward an image in flux—unfinished, open, and relational.

Related courses