Der Berg im Stausee
"The Mountain in the Reservoir Lake"
Onzgi & Mansoureh Aalaii
Video installation, Göschenen, 2021
Visiting the village of Göschenen, we realise that in the centre, where one would expect the village square, the town hall or a church there is a deep chasm surrounded by impassable cliffs hosting a reservoir lake. The murky waters of the lake, whose level and colour vary daily, seemingly beautiful, mysterious, icy and dangerous all at once. This chasm in the middle of the village, which everyone has to go around or cross by high bridges but which no one seems to look at, calls out to us. Of this water emanates a power that is disproportionate to the size of the village and the peaceful life of its five hundred inhabitants. For us it is obvious that there is a playground here, a challenge to bring these two worlds together.
We start talking to the people of the village. They are authentic, originals, warm-hearted and speak a lilting dialect. Among them are crystal seekers, mountaineers, classical ballet dancers in stables, hunters, pacifists, entrepreneurs, pensioners, adventurers...
We explore the imposing surrounding mountains with steep rocky peaks, green on their slopes, a nature that seems to be left in its raw state except for the few pastures at the bottom of the valley where cows, sheep and at night deers roam freely.
Mountains, rocks, wind, clouds, rivers, humans, butterflies, cows, flowers, trees, light... these characters, these beings and bodies of very different size, nature and age, belong to the same family and dance around the same world...
The video installation Der Berg im Stausee, "The Mountain in the Reservoir Lake", took place at night in the village-centre of Göschenen in the Swiss mountains. It was experienced from different spots like the village bridges. It consisted of two projections: one directly on the reservoir lake, another on two figures standing close to the public on a bridge. The video recordings were made by Onzgi and Mansoureh Aalaii during their residency at the Kunstdepot Göschenen in summer 2021, in the nature surrounding Göschenen and with its inhabitants.
Thanks to: Kunstdepot Göschenen, Municipality of Göschenen
Special thanks to: Christoph Hürlimann, Elisabeth Weber, Peter Tresch, Marianne Burkhalter, Karl Jost, Markus Gerig, Bernhard Mattli, Jonas Mattli, Werner Imholz, Georg Walker, Daniel Kieliger, Guido Reichlin, Karin Wälchli, Thomas Furger, Marie-Louise Gamma, Martina Tresch-Regli, Ruedi Boog, Corinna Gamma, Selina Gamma, Lena Gamma, Lea Gamma, Konrad Mattli, Louis Lussmann, Vreni Baumann, Karl Baumann, Vroni Regli-Senn, Paula Waller-Senn, Jrmgard Jauch
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