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2006 2024
SLAP !

FINE ARTS

SLAP !

with Geoffrey Cottenceau, Gina Proenza

Whether it’s a parade, a particle accelerator or a dance ball, SLAP invites you to inhabit a space from a gravitational perspective. Positioned on the boundary between two and three dimensions, the works are subject to centrifugal laws and find themselves exchanging with one another to create fortuitous narratives, as if the continuous round of which they were a part of had suddenly come to a halt. The exhibition space becomes the site of a fundamentally social event - in terms of the works it hosts and the exhibition context - and reveals the social perspective that the works hold in rela- tion to each other. Like a boring chat with a friend of a friend, some pieces are overwhelmed by their conversations, while others lend themselves easily to them. You’ll have no hesitation in intercepting some of the phrases exchanged between the works, while having the opportunity to: reply/nego- tiate/argue with the social time-space that SLAP, as a real static meeting point, offers for an evening.

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 ECAL x Alloyed

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 ECAL x Alloyed

with Nicolas Le Moigne, Alexis Georgacopoulos, Xavier Perrenoud, Basil Dénéréaz

For the Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 trade show, ECAL/University of Art and DesignLausanne has teamed up with Alloyed, a company that specialises in metal printingtechnologies, to present an original collection of watch straps. Designed by students in theMaster of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship programme, thesewristbands have been developed using 3D modelling software, resulting in unique pieces thatgo beyond the limits of traditional techniques. Five of the 15 concepts designed by the students were selected and 3D printed from a finepowder of TI6AI4V titanium—an alloy composed of titanium, aluminium, and vanadium—whosemelting point of around 1,600° Celsius is obtained using a laser beam. Regularly used in theaerospace, and medical industries, this printing technique, known as Laser Powder BedFusion (L-PBF), can be used to create objects with ultra-high-performance mechanicalproperties. Each project, presented in the form of a prototype or animation, finds its inspiration in thebeauty of nature, through organic structures, as much as in complex systems, closer toengineering. This collaboration brings together technology, craftsmanship, and design—withlinks to the world of fine watchmaking—by combining the expertise of engineers specialising inthe science of materials, the know-how of artisan jewellers and their finishing skills, and thecreativity and innovative spirit of up-and-coming designers.

Can They Dance ?

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Can They Dance ?

with Cyril Diagne

CAN THEY DANCE? is the result of a week-long workshop centered around the concept of Large Action Models (LAM). By repurposing existing platforms, the students leveraged the reasoning capabilities of these artificial intelligence models (LLM).

Retinaa workshop

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Retinaa workshop

by Candice Aepli, Amélie Bertholet, Coraline Beyeler, Delphine Brantschen, Léa Corin, Matteo Cortesi, Mathilde Driebold, Eliot Dubi, Marc Facchinetti, Emilie Müller, Dorian Pangallo, Paul Paturel, Hugo Scholl, Diego Steiner, Cyprien Valenza, Alfredo Venti, Arnaud Wenger, Constance Mauler, Flora Hayoz, Lidia Molina González, Vladislav Tschumi

During this week, the students had to create Obi Strip, a strip of paper surrounding the cover of a vinyl. A visible layer representing the world of their vinyl and an invisible layer creating a security raster. The result was screen-printed, using visible ink and UV ink for the security design.

Foundation year Workshop 2024

FOUNDATION YEAR

Foundation year Workshop 2024

with Clemens Alexander Severin Piontek, Karla Hiraldo Voleau, Vanessa Safavi, Basil Dénéréaz, Bruno Deville, Aurélie Vial

Option Cinema Bruno Deville Instructed to follow one or more people in the course of their work, the students were each asked to make a documentary with the constraint of treating it the attributes of fiction. Option Media & Interaction Design Basil Dénéréaz Introduction to 3D through a week-long workshop on the theme of CGI still lifes, designed to familiarise students with this medium. Option Photography Karla Hiraldo Voleau How do we communicate today, within our relationships? How is the online environment shaping the way we talk about love, whether through words or images? The students delved into their experiences and perceptions of relationships to create a portrait of love in the digital age. Option Graphic Design Clemens Piontek Modular Expression Exploring modular design and creating lettering and new typography. The aim is to create fonts that express a feeling, an emotion, a mood or an atmosphere. The set of components specific to each is created from the Vevey* typeface, which has two variants: Vevey Positive & Vevey Human Kind. Option Visual Arts Vanessa Safavi Working with specific objects or materials chosen by the students on the basis of their physical and symbolic properties, to reveal a gesture or intention in the conception of a defined plastic work. Option Industrial Design Aurélie Vial Exploring digital cutting and assembly techniques. Starting with sheets of honeycomb cardboard and using the workshop's digital cutting table, we created columns and structures, the only constraints being that they had to be vertical and self-supporting. How do you inhabit a space with 26 different proposals to create a collective and coherent whole? Pictures © ECAL/Marvin Merkel Poster © ECAL/Aude Meyer de Stadelhofen

Tribute to Masterpieces

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Tribute to Masterpieces

with Elodie Anglade

Selection of animated sequences made during a 3D course directed by Elodie Anglade. The students were inspired by a painting and transcribed it into three different scenes.

Expression – Duboux

FOUNDATION YEAR

Expression – Duboux

by Alexandra Cupsa

Visual of the labels designed by Alexandra Cupsa as part of a competition organised by Constance and Jean Duboux for students in the ECAL Foundation Year.

Cyanotype workshop

FOUNDATION YEAR

Cyanotype workshop

by Adam Touhami, Alice Refachinho, Anaïs Dermont, Cansu Celen, Eloïse Guillod, Emma Morisseau, Filipa Batalim, Isabelle Virnot, Laura Simons, Lena Mancini, Mathys Mauron, Matteo Lucca, Noé Fortuit, Pierric Mamin, Tobia Rizzon, Marie Macherel

A day-long workshop given by Aude Meyer de Stadelhofen to students in the Graphic Design option. The aim was to compose by hand using tracing paper on which were printed visuals previously produced by the students. The possibility of cutting, cropping, pasting and drawing allowed everyone to make the visuals their own and create original posters.

Presque Rien

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Presque Rien

with Erwan Bouroullec

Led by the acclaimed French designer Erwan Bouroullec, the workshop 'Presque Rien' unfolded as an exploration of design possibilities within the setting of his estate and recently renovated Burgundy farm. The project envisioned an open canvas, encouraging ECAL’s Bachelor Industrial Design students, to diverge from traditional problem-solving.

PROJECTIONS XXL

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECTIONS XXL

with Sami Benhadj, Vincent Jacquier

An immersive and magnetic visual environment, created by ECAL students, illuminates the facades of the mudac and Photo Elysée building. As part of an interdisciplinary project within the Visual Communication department of ECAL, students in the Photography, Graphic Design and Media & Interaction Design Bachelors programs developed immersive video projects designed to adorn the facades of Photo Elysée.

Workshop - Charlie Engman

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop - Charlie Engman

with Milo Keller, Clément Lambelet

"Treatment, Synthesis, and Art Direction" Charlie Engman is an artist, photographer, writer, and art director based in Brooklyn, New York.He works across a range of media and disciplines from gen-AI art, photography, video, and fashion, and balances artistic, commercial, and pedagogical practices. He is the art director of the sustainable fashion brand, Collina Strada, where he is responsible for print design, branding, and runway show design. This workshop will investigate the ways in which media, aesthetics, and culture are interwoven and overlapping and are driven in large part by the accessibility of popular technology. It will also investigate the ways in which creativity is a collaborative and iterative process that bleeds across genre and category. There will be a key focus on the intersection of photography, AI tools, and videogaming / user-driven media.In this workshop, participants are expected to explore and challenge the ways they integrate and synthesize both professional and vernacular registers and new and traditional techniques. This will also serve as an introduction to developing art direction and making “ treatments ” for commissioned projects, and practical experience concepting and executing assignments that can bridge between a distinctive artistic practice and preexisting modes of making and sharing.

Fishtank

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Fishtank

with YONK

Under the guidance of 3D duo YONK, Second-year students worked on creating animated water creatures with accompanying habitats for the project “Fishtank”, inspired by the wall of aquariums you find at a fish store. The students learnt the ins and outs of using Virtual Reality to Sculpt 3D assets as well as animating, lighting and texturing in the 3D software Blender.

WORKSHOP Marie-Caroline Hominal / Pierrine Poget

FINE ARTS

WORKSHOP Marie-Caroline Hominal / Pierrine Poget

The BAAV is inviting two leading figures to its semestrial workshops: Pierrine Poget, author and poet, and Marie-Caroline Hominal, dancer and performer, both from Geneva. The former, described by one student as an "osteopath of the brain", invites a group of students to make a family with the voices in their heads, while the latter invites bodies into the space of the party for a performance in the ECAL film studio.

Colour Typologies

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Colour Typologies

by Candice Aepli, Amélie Bertholet, Coraline Beyeler, Delphine Brantschen, Léa Corin, Matteo Cortesi, Mathilde Driebold, Eliot Dubi, Marc Facchinetti, Emilie Müller, Dorian Pangallo, Paul Paturel, Hugo Scholl, Diego Steiner, Cyprien Valenza, Alfredo Venti, Arnaud Wenger, Constance Mauler, Flora Hayoz, Lidia Molina González, Vladislav Tschumi

Workshop Atelier Brenda During this week, the students created posters based on Ken Nordine's music album "Color".

Ecal x Reitzel silo

FOUNDATION YEAR

Ecal x Reitzel silo

by Dunand Clea

Reitzel wished to make the surface area of its silo available to young artists for free expression and creativity. To this end, a competition was held and student Cléa Dunand's project was selected, transforming the industrial silo into an artistic canvas. Production of the paintings: Yoanys Andino Diaz and his team

COLLABORATION AVEC DEDON 2023

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

COLLABORATION AVEC DEDON 2023

with Alexis Tourron (Panter&Tourron), Stefano Panterotto (Panter&Tourron)

DEDON by Nature: Object 3 DEDON Studio partnered with ECAL for the second year to showcase "DEDON by Nature: Object 3." This exhibition features three collections of living accessories created by students from the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship. Under designers Panter&Tourron's guidance, students kick-started the project with a visit to DEDON's Philippine manufacturer, immersing themselves in DEDON's unique Fiber and weaving processes. The creations that were conceived, designed, and crafted over an eight-month period, demonstrate imaginative prowess that reflects both the talent of the students and the enduring fascination that nature holds for us all.

USM Design Grant - 6th Edition

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

USM Design Grant - 6th Edition

with Christian Spiess, Fondation USM, Théâtre de Vidy

The USM Design Grant is a study grant launched by the Fondation USM to encourage innovation by rewarding a student’s project. For the 6th edition of the USM Design Grant awarded by the USM Foundation, ECAL Bachelor Industrial Design students, under the guidance of Swiss designer Christian Spiess, were asked to design new outdoor seating for the terrace of the Théâtre de Vidy in Lausanne.

Sara De Brito Faustino – Toute petite et vilaine

PHOTOGRAPHY

Sara De Brito Faustino – Toute petite et vilaine

by Sara De Brito Faustino

“This project presents the home as a place where uncanniness and vernacular commonness exist side by side. Being an intimate space, a home should be a restful and secure place. However, mine has been the scene of some painful events. Today, I see this house as threatening. Uncomfortable and dysfunctional, it bears the scars of the past. In my photographs, I revisit those memories and reclaim my body. My tiny dioramas express my young self’s ideals opposed to the wounds I currently bear. Constructing, deconstructing, objects become bodies, whereas my being feels deformed and petrified. Toute petite et vilaine (“Tiny and Ugly”) creates an antagonistic tension between appealing visuals and disturbing details.“

Hermès WINDOW DISPLAY IN GENEVA

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Hermès WINDOW DISPLAY IN GENEVA

by Nathanaël Baby, Luca Nichetto, Nicolas Le Moigne, Xavier Perrenoud

The Hermès Printing Company Inspired by the aesthetics of rotary printing presses, this project allows passers-by to immerse themselves in a graphic and artistic universe. Through the ten windows of the store, “L’Imprimerie Hermès” is a reinterpretation of the main stages of printing: everything starts with rolls of paper, which are then deployed in large strips, until they become posters. The paper, in all its forms, is printed along its length by repeating the story of a letter published in six different languages (French, English, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese) by the magazine Le Monde d'Hermès. A layout specially created for this project incorporates large areas of color in order to frame and highlight the accessories from the different Hermès universes. They thus seem to come to life and become part of the story.

Hermès Window display in Zürich

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Hermès Window display in Zürich

by Charitini Gkritzali, Xavier Perrenoud, Nicolas Le Moigne, Luca Nichetto

The Astonishing Moment of Life Inspired by the Surrealist movement and the desire to find magic and wonder in the familiar and everyday life, this project features shapes and emblematic Hermès accessories that interact to form two subtly choreographed installations. These two window displays, imagined by Greek designer Charitini Gkritzali, a student in the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, are an interpretation of Hermès' 2023 annual theme, “Astonishment”, offering a moment that oscillates between reality and dreams.

Céline Witzke – From Fabric to Glass: Capturing the Movement of Textiles in Experimental Glassmaking

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Céline Witzke – From Fabric to Glass: Capturing the Movement of Textiles in Experimental Glassmaking

by Céline Witzke

This project draws inspiration from the world of fashion, specifically the organic movements, volumes and textures found in textiles, and explores how these elements unintentionally create soft forms. In collaboration with Swiss glass manufacturer Niesenglass, a collection of multipurpose glass objects has been created, showcasing craftsmanship in a new light.

Shan Yu Kuan – BASUANN

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Shan Yu Kuan – BASUANN

by Shan Yu Kuan

BASUANN draws inspiration from the image of traditional Asian rattan/bamboo chairs. Its name echoes the pronunciation of the Taiwanese meaning “tie with cords”. Comprised of seven pieces of spiral ducts, BASUANN is assembled using mortise and tenon joints to connect the sitting part with the legs part. It is further reinforced by cords that securely bind the stool together. BASUANN seamlessly blends contemporary furniture design with the evocative imagery of Asian traditional craftsmanship, showcasing the aesthetic of minimalistic design.

Charitini Gkritzali – Topology of a Body

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Charitini Gkritzali – Topology of a Body

by Charitini Gkritzali

Deriving inspiration from 20th century orthopaedic braces, Topology of a Body is a series of body jewellery items that closely conform to the human anatomy and resemble the body’s structural elements. Each piece is composed by solid geometrical shapes and organic curves that are created with silver or steel wire. The thickness of the wire is altered in a dynamic rhythm, highlighting the morphology of the body. The metal structure, which is carefully designed to envelop the human figure, ultimately takes on a sculptural form. Just like orthopaedic braces, the pieces of jewellery are designed to allow the body to move, yet seem to keep it in a constant state of immobility. This paradox eventually raises a question: do these objects enable or restrain the body’s movements?

Marine Col – ROPY

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Marine Col – ROPY

by Marine Col

Ropy is a seriously playful stool that plays with the past. Designed in a single, light stroke, this object draws its charm from the reuse of materials. Old naval ropes from the port of Lausanne, their colours tarnished by time, serve as raw material and become precious material once the object has been made.

Anaïs Sulmoni – IVORIA

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Anaïs Sulmoni – IVORIA

by Anaïs Sulmoni

Once prized and valued by craftspeople, bone is now perceived as dirty and worthless. Yet, it is still widely used by cosmetics and food industries. It has appealed to me for many years because of its similarity to ivory and because of its living aspect, even though it represents death. Drawing on the abundance of this organic waste, I set out to recreate the prestige of ivory. I discovered the potential of bone as glue and powder, applied to different supports: solid wood, wood shavings and fabrics. The research book and models highlight bone, which presents new aesthetic and structural possibilities and acts as the first step towards reconciliation with this precious material.

Chiara Torterolo – MedGum

PRODUCT DESIGN

Chiara Torterolo – MedGum

with Camille Blin, Augustin Scott de Martinville

MedGum: Effective Alternative to Traditional Drug Delivery Systems Chewing gums are recognised by scientists and medical researchers as a highly effective alternative to conventional drug administration methods like pills, tablets and capsules. MedGum is a research-driven project that integrates food production, medical research and design, to develop a range of functional gums with additional health benefits. By designing the gum and its structure, it becomes possible to enhance the effectiveness of the medication, improving the speed and dynamics of absorption of active ingredients. Tailored to specific diseases such as stomach disorders, allergies, migraines and oral injuries, each MedGum, together with a new packaging, offers patients a discreet and convenient way of taking their medication.

Rémi Opalinski – Photobook Uncovered

Design Research for Digital Innovation (EPFL+ECAL Lab)

Rémi Opalinski – Photobook Uncovered

by Rémi Opalinski

Photobook Uncovered is an interactive installation which was developed in collaboration with the Museum for Photography – Photo Elysée. The design research project aims to enhance the comprehension of photobooks among a diverse audience. Through this immersive experience, visitors can navigate a curated collection of 300 photobooks, discovering intriguing connections based on layout similarities. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, the installation offers a unique and engaging way to interact with the photobooks, revealing insights into the relationships between the different works.

Lucie Houel – Things That Talk

Design Research for Digital Innovation (EPFL+ECAL Lab)

Lucie Houel – Things That Talk

by Lucie Houel

Museum exhibitions traditionally present a multitude of objects grouped by theme or typology. While each of them is accompanied by a brief description of their origins, exhibitions rarely delve into the narratives surrounding each work. Things That Talk is a research project initiated by the LHST, which focuses on the exhibition of a single object and its multiple associated narratives. The final exhibition showcases a digital fresco that combines archival images and original content, which visitors can explore and animate using interactive spotlights. These interactions reveal hidden connections between the narratives and contemporary issues, allowing visitors to generate their own understanding of the themes addressed and to engage in a critical reflection on history.

Juri Bizzotto – Shy Opener, Transfarmer Miniconcert

FINE ARTS

Juri Bizzotto – Shy Opener, Transfarmer Miniconcert

by Juri Bizzotto

Shy Opener, Transfarmer Miniconcert consists of a live set and presentation of the first single + video clip Shy Opener, made for the Transfarmer Series project. The concert stage is transformed into a window into the world of Transfarmer, where sound, performance and stage elements recreate the bucolic ecosystem of a rediscovered periphery. Transfarmer is a long-term research project, which is committed to creating intersectional critical thinking with respect to the condition of queer, trans* subjectivities in the rural context – imagining metamorphoses of them and their landscape. The practical project includes drawings, texts, sound compositions, videos and props, and aims to produce an EP that will narrate the cosmovision of the character of Transfarmer.

Simon Colliard – Celle-ci je voulais la chanter au bord du gouffre

FINE ARTS

Simon Colliard – Celle-ci je voulais la chanter au bord du gouffre

by Simon Colliard

Celle-ci Je Voulais la Chanter au Bord du Gouffre talks about having dreams and getting lost in the process. Celle-ci Je Voulais la Chanter au Bord du Gouffre is what remains when you have been looking within for too long. Celle-ci Je Voulais la Chanter au Bord du Gouffre is a 17-minute musical performance that tells a fragment of a story.

Sofia Fresey Angelopoulou – Juggler

FINE ARTS

Sofia Fresey Angelopoulou – Juggler

by Sofia Fresey Angelopoulou

Juggler is an installation that consists of four large prints on micro-perforated tarpaulins, which are suspended from the ceiling. Viewers are welcome to walk around them and appreciate their see-through qualities. In many instances the juggler shares its identity with the magician, the jester and the fool. It is a duality: folly and non-folly, order and disorder, a joke and a warning. It is an entity that creates amusement with implements and in some cases with a physically deformed body. Through that, it generates patterns that describe the bizarre. Combinations of incompatibility, fantasy and reality, caricature and plausibility, alogicalness and hyperbolism. A big part of this project consists of images generated by an AI trained with pictures of freaks in sideshows.

Yoonjae Lee – Umwelten: Four Humans

FINE ARTS

Yoonjae Lee – Umwelten: Four Humans

by Yoonjae Lee

Umwelt (pl. Umwelten) refers to the world as it is experienced by a particular organism. This installation visualises subtle differences in the Umwelt of four human beings. Eight live streaming cameras face one LED through bespoke camera filters that are shaped based on four individuals’ corneas. Specifically, the four individuals here are Yoonjae Lee herself and people she cares for. She tries to understand the fundamental differences between her dear ones and herself by discovering the morphological differences in each vision. By focusing on the fact that each person’s perception is different due to their bodily differences, before their experiences, this work questions the implicit agreement and undisclosed biases in visual arts that assume everyone sees an artwork in the same way.

Claudia Mangone – Diagrams

FINE ARTS

Claudia Mangone – Diagrams

by Claudia Mangone

This series of drawings is the result of a process in which the amount of information is continuously dosed. Communication is partially silenced; the structure of the shapes is blurred and lost, like a clouded mind or a hidden secret. Breaths in the room or manifestation of thoughts, they represent nothing more than what comes to the eye; the work thus becomes malleable under the gaze of the viewer, highlighting the unspoken. Made on paper, cut out, reassembled and then veiled by the milky surface of plexiglass, their manifestation is elusive. The colours are calibrated according to the surface’s capacity to hold or enhance them. The three pivots that support the drawings move around the four sides to find points of stability.

Sebastien Rück – Jeanne’s Promdress

FINE ARTS

Sebastien Rück – Jeanne’s Promdress

by Sebastien Rück

My project is a reflection on how to showcase a series of drawings. Jeanne’s Promdress was created with the same energy I would have put into making my own prom dress. I sought to create a space, a cocoon for my drawings – a place that compels visitors to linger, take a moment, peek inside and discover a selection of drawings resulting from an intimate sketchbook production, made in the living space that is the bedroom. I used different materials such as the tulle of a mosquito net or a piece of muslin fabric (100% polyester), wire, a metal circle and a hanging rod. I sewed everything myself, hence the title, Promdress.

Clara Sipf – Outlaw History: Bird Invasion

FINE ARTS

Clara Sipf – Outlaw History: Bird Invasion

by Clara Sipf

A couple of days ago, the birds flew into the city. Enormous flocks of all varieties of birds, plenty of crows, seagulls and sparrows. The sky became dark. Determined and angry, they swooped down on the panicked masses. Greedily they pecked the flesh of living bodies; the big birds ripped whole shreds out of them. I spotted one that the woodpeckers, with their rapid hammering movements, had carefully severed from the neck including the spinal bones and the head had rolled dully down a small slope, meeting its end in the roadside ditch. The judges must have lingered in the courthouse for some more time until a falcon threw itself like a martyr through the colourfully decorated church window and herded them out.

Lana Soufeh – Toujan Display: Contextual Arabic Typeface

TYPE DESIGN

Lana Soufeh – Toujan Display: Contextual Arabic Typeface

with Kai Bernau, Matthieu Cortat

Today, most typographic design is done in Latin script and type design software is geared towards Western scripts. Toujan is a contextual Arabic typeface that aims to explore the potential of this software to reintegrate versatility and connectivity in Arabic script, while preserving its dynamic nature. It is inspired by the Tawqii’ style, a hybrid of thuluth and naskh calligraphy and features ligatures that enhance the visual allure of the text but also serve a functional purpose, optimising the spacing and improving the text flow. Toujan pushes the boundaries of Arabic type by reintroducing one of its unique features, i.e. that of connecting all words in a sentence with a series of swashes that link the last letter of each word to the first letter of the following word.

Fanny Dunning – Figures in a landscape

FINE ARTS

Fanny Dunning – Figures in a landscape

by Fanny Dunning

thinking of sculptures in a big garden, on acres of land popping up like hills but hills with crowns of horns here function follows form. it has built this as a sculpture. then installed its mirrors. thinking of sculptures in a big garden people inviting artists to come and stay

Tianchang Gu – Papers, please

FINE ARTS

Tianchang Gu – Papers, please

by Tianchang Gu

The title of my graduation work comes from the video game of the same name and is the sequel to my thesis “Renens Palace”, an autofiction based on a dystopian future. In this fiction, the “self”, a former immigrant in Europe, becomes an immigration officer. How can writing be transformed into performance? The observed becomes the observer. The formerly oppressed blends into the system and becomes a person of authority. Bureaucratic gestures turn into choreography. Official documents become poems. Administrative motifs and symbols of power turn into visual aesthetics. These are the questions I contemplate during this creative process. All these strangely romanticised and anxiety-inducing elements evoke a reality we don’t always want to confront.

Yann Fankhauser – Étendard du marcheur

FINE ARTS

Yann Fankhauser – Étendard du marcheur

by Yann Fankhauser

This project is a print on a PVC tarpaulin (2500 mm x 1200 mm) of 18 silhouettes in boxes forming a black and white checkerboard. The development of the project was done from hand-made sketches, then digitised with Illustrator and arranged in a checkerboard. These sketches of silhouettes were made through various processes: 1) the modification of an initial silhouette to create a new one, 2) the juxtaposition of several silhouettes with each other, and 3) by illustrating a new angle of a silhouette already created. The concept revisits the idea of a motor-racing finish flag, transforming it into an endless journey, playing on the boundary between the figurative and the abstract in the image of pareidolia.

Matteo Angelé – If I Could Tell You/Se Potessi Dirtelo

PHOTOGRAPHY

Matteo Angelé – If I Could Tell You/Se Potessi Dirtelo

by Matteo Angelé

This reappropriation project attempts to question the influence of context and medium by reusing pornographic images from homosexual magazines of the 1980s – a decade marked by the discovery of AIDS. Originally created for purely pornographic purposes, these images, representing bodies devoid of movement and stemming from bondage culture, describe the male archetype as characterised by Rudy Lemcke in A History of Violence: “Born and shaped by violence (…), we exist in a world where these dynamics of power and control are already operating for, with and against us. The effects of violence are a part of who we are.”

Aniket Godbole – A Place I Call Home

PHOTOGRAPHY

Aniket Godbole – A Place I Call Home

by Aniket Godbole

Growing up as an immigrant, my notion of “otherness” was profoundly connected with my idea of self – never fully Nigerian in Nigeria or Indian in India. This series explores my understanding of home as a third culture child, collating a narrative of my life that revisits memories of my youth through reimagined constructions of my everyday life. Settling in a new city never felt strange but with time a feeling of uncertainty lingered when I considered what I could actually call home. Featuring layered journal entries and subtracted and multiplied images from my archives, these collages tell a delicate story of a life in transit. I link up with a past that I have never fully experienced. Traditions, thoughts and realities guide a reflection on my childhood and how I experienced growing up in a strange new world that I now call home.

Benjamin Freedman – Positive Illusions

PHOTOGRAPHY

Benjamin Freedman – Positive Illusions

by Benjamin Freedman

Positive Illusions is a photobook that depicts a series of childhood memories constructed using CGI. The resulting uncanny still lives, imagined from the perspective of a child, evoke a strange family presence in photo-realistic environments. Inspired by the nature of memory and simulation, I have based my scenes on what I could remember and used a phenomenological approach to fill in the blanks. Revisiting the past using CGI technology to re-stage events creates a unique flattening of the past and present – a process of pseudo visual archaeology. Some images in the series are repeated but with slight alterations, revealing the surrealist process of fabricating them and underscoring the phenomenon of distortion that is inherent to memory.

Matteo Dal Lago – Natura Molta

PRODUCT DESIGN

Matteo Dal Lago – Natura Molta

with Camille Blin, Augustin Scott de Martinville

Marble, a popular resource worldwide, holds special significance in Carrara, Tuscany, where around 4 million tons are annually extracted. Extraction leads to the production of significant amounts of marble slurry, a dense mixture of dust and water. Proper management of this waste is crucial to prevent environmental pollution. With a focus on sustainable resource utilisation, my project seeks to upcycle this waste into a valuable resource. In collaboration with local companies, I spent most of the semester conducting on-site work in Carrara. The research conducted aims to highlight the potential of marble slurry as a valuable resource rather than waste material. The outcome presented features a collection of material samples and a bench designed and crafted entirely from marble slurry.

Shania Soares – Alma

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Shania Soares – Alma

with Stephane Halmai-Voisard, Christian Spiess, Carolien Niebling

Alma revolutionises beauty routines for seniors and individuals with arthritis or limited dexterity. Every customer deserves to feel pampered and confident, regardless of their circumstances. The Alma set includes three makeup brushes, a mascara, a lipstick and a makeup palette. The project was designed in collaboration with seniors facing fine motor skill issues, ensuring ease of use.

Fumi Omori – Girl Talk

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fumi Omori – Girl Talk

by Fumi Omori

Girl Talk is an immersive virtual reality installation that explores the concept of multicultural identities and the idea of home. The project presents a curated collection of self-portraits featuring cyber avatars from Japanese, Korean and Korean-American backgrounds. Through my exploration of diversity, I have come to realise that embracing different cultural expressions is not merely a question of adaptation; it is a nuanced and intricate process of discovering the intrinsic values within each culture. With Girl Talk, I aim to share my own experiences and convey the journey of navigating between feelings of confusion and the power of inclusivity, while simultaneously grappling with the challenges of trilingual identities in this interconnected world.

Valerie Geissbühler – Soft Matter in Interwoven Worlds

PHOTOGRAPHY

Valerie Geissbühler – Soft Matter in Interwoven Worlds

by Valerie Geissbühler

“Soft Matter in Interwoven Worlds is a multifaceted installation that brings together narratives focusing on the potato. These stories retrace the tuber’s journey from Peru, its birthplace, to Switzerland. A soft matter is an entity that is perceived as unheroic and taken for granted. Instead of reducing the potato to a food plant, I see it as a resilient carrier of life as well as a creature. The boundaries between endings and beginnings blur as I navigate the ambiguity of birth, growth, death and loss. I merge ancestral knowledge and autofictional imagery by moving among multiple perspectives, territories and times, my bicultural identity and womanhood. All this brings me back to the roots of it all and leaves me to wonder: did I raise you or did you give birth to me?“

Minjong Kim – Amateur

TYPE DESIGN

Minjong Kim – Amateur

with Kai Bernau, Matthieu Cortat

Amateur is a serif typeface that synthesises the calligraphic features derived from historical research. It evokes a niche sanctuary for a forgotten genre, exuding a sense of elegance. Inspired by the letterforms of early antique German models, Amateur cleverly plays with a distinctive form of horizontality, simultaneously revealing untamed strokes and meticulously crafted details. The uniform text styles provide robust, harmonised textures for optimal readability, while the display styles amplify the expressive qualities of each letter to the extreme, fearlessly embracing deliberate imperfections that blur conventional type systems and showcase captivating aesthetics.

Luísa Tormenta – Supra-Memento

PHOTOGRAPHY

Luísa Tormenta – Supra-Memento

by Luísa Tormenta

Supra-Memento speculates on the preservation of human life within digital spaces and how bodies can morph into dematerialised reflections, thereby resisting the inevitable decay that faces our tangible realities. The work takes the form of a video installation, creating a meditative environment that physically engages the viewers. Using photogrammetry scans, I have preserved my body and those of loved ones, immortalising the ephemerality of human memories and relationships into a liminal space. Steeped in Vanitas symbolism, the sacredness of these bodies intertwines with the insignificance of decaying organic matter. While this photo-technique conveys an illusion of volume, it also exposes the fragmentation of the data, revealing how these too are temporal shells, vulnerable to disintegration.

Coline Besson – Girlz – They Gave Us Pink Let Us Make It Powerful

TYPE DESIGN

Coline Besson – Girlz – They Gave Us Pink Let Us Make It Powerful

with Kai Bernau, Julia Born

This editorial project embraces a new interpretation of the stereotypes of Femininity. The conscious reappropriation of its attributes becomes an act of awareness, subversion and empowerment. As a woman, being dissonant, allegedly vulgar and girly is a way to disrupt and challenge the established order and the agreed expectations of society. The publication gathers and highlights the works of a variety of female artists for this cause. It also features a custom-made font, Courtesy, with a neo-kitsch display cut that plays with proportions and consistency and a reader-friendly text cut – both sharing specific and sharp features. Finally, a monospace version allows for more freedom in compositions. It is used where traditional typesetting would favour italics.

Jessica Dreier – Margem Sul

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jessica Dreier – Margem Sul

by Jessica Dreier

"Margem Sul explores the social and political history of Portugal, focusing on the south margin opposite Lisbon. I documented Barreiro, Almada, Moita and Trafaria, with a focus on Segundo Torrão. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, Angolan, Mozambican, Cape Verdean, Guinean and Santomean populations settled here, forming a strong comunity. Local rappers denounce the growing gentrification of Trafaria. The State justifies the demolitions on security grounds but remains evasive about their real motivations. Since the end of 2022, more and more homes have been demolished and people evicted. My work seeks to amplify the voice of the actors, expressing a variety of situations, from wandering to overt situations."

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