"Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world, yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history, yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise."
Albert Camus, The Plague, 1948
The latest work by Beat Kuert, ‘The Virus in My Head,’ is a recollection of memories from his youth and a reflection of his inner-self during the time of lockdown, in response to this strange and unusual event. His explanations resulted in what he calls il libretto visivo – a visual booklet featuring his main character, Solome, and himself in obscured circumstances and surroundings.
Kuert’s background as a filmmaker is strongly evident in his multi-layered imagery. He presents his anima as Solome in different settings, where her changing persona of a fearless warrior goddess, a kinky lover, and a suffering woman are central to his hopes and fears. He worships his heroine, who feeds his desire to delve into her realm as an accomplice and an observer.
‘The Virus in My Head’ is also an account of Kuert’s attempt to make sense of this plague. Each page of his chronicle presents one of his enigmatic visions and includes an image with a caption we as bystanders can explore. Nonetheless, in this play Kuert lives his dreams and nightmares through Solome, coming to terms with the isolation, estrangement, and uncertainty he himself and humankind are continuously facing, albeit not understanding the chain of subtle but irrevocable events that brought our civilisation to that point.
Beat Kuert is a Swiss multimedia artist. He started his career as a filmmaker and achieved great success with his experimental films ‘Schilten,’ ‘Martha Dubronski,’ ‘Deshima,’‘The Grand Inquisitor,’ and ‘Pierrotische Beziehungen.’ His endeavours were honoured with several international awards: International Cinema d’arts e d´essai 1979; Prix de la cinémathèque real du Belge 1979; Preis der Stadt Zürich für den Film Schilten 1980; Prix du jury (Festival Nyon) 1985, and Prix Walo 2004, Award of the Swiss Show Business. Kuert has also made several documentaries about the architects Jean Nouvel, Herzog & deMeuron, Mario Botta, Max Dudler and Luigi Snozzi.
In 2005, Kuert founded the art collective dust&scratches, creating performances, video art, and music, along with his photographic work. Since then, he has exhibited internationally. He is an advisor to ‘Yuanfen-Flow’ in Beijing, an institution that promotes the exchange of ideas between China and the rest of the world. In 2015 and 2017, he participated in the collateral events at Palazo Bembo at the Venice Biennale, with important installations, such as FaultLine/TimeLine and Good Morning Darkness. In November of the same year, he was the main character at the event Processualità ideative e attuative di un libro d’artista, held in Milan’s Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, during which he launched the book Beat Me, a pictorial requiem, by Eyemazing Susan. In 2018, his work was shown at the Milan Photo Fair. The Fondazione Maimeri staged his latest solo exhibition, Furor Corporis, and his performance Intertwined at Musica Arte Cultura in Milan.
Beat Kuert' work can be purchased http://bit.ly/Artsper_Beat_Kuert
For further information contact [email protected]
Newsletter:
Courtesy and ©Beat Kuert and Renée Pfister (text), 2020.
Video:
Courtesy and ©Beat Kuert, Ben Sound (music)
https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/piano-moment
and Renée Pfister (text), with the assistance of Galina Matveeva, 2020. All rights reserved.
Image:
Beat Kuert, Excited time, 2020, lambda print on dibond, diasec, H750 mm x W1000 mm.