Pipilotti Rist

Pipilotti Rist is one of Switzerland’s most famous video artists. Funny, surreal and eccentric, she creates diverse works that touch all the senses and immerse us in a new reality. Already during her studies of photography and visual communication she began to film and addressed topics including sexuality, body image and our relationship to nature. In 2009, Rist produced her first feature film, Pepperminta, recording her alter-ego strolling carelessly through Vienna and Zurich. This work represents an overview of Rist’s approach. Its psychedelic scenario is subversive and a flagrant social critique. The three photographs displayed are film stills taken during production and are characteristic of the artist’s visual language and style. The bright colours, especially the red and the pink, stand for love and passion. Undefined organic shapes evoke nerve fibres or branches. The strange perspectives that show tulips seen from below and offer an unrestricted view into Pepperminta’s nose, can be considered both fascinating and disgusting. Rist subtly criticises the lack of humour with which topics such as physicality and intimacy have been artistically implemented. As our body stands still while watching, Rist bewitches our senses and whisks us away into her strange world full of unknown possibilities.