packan
INSTALLATION
taxidermied animal feet, strings, brass-coated hooks
The hooves of a donkey, the paws of a dog, the claws of a cat and two rooster feet from the medical science collection of an animal hospital: They were taxidermied for illustration purposes for veterinary students. At Galerie Römerapotheke, they hang marionette-like from the ceiling or stand on the stairs that connect the gallery spaces. Their arrangement reminds of the body of the "Town Musicians of Bremen", a fairytale by Brothers Grimm, but remains a disembodied ghost.
Packan, installation view at Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich.
In the socio-utopian fairytale, old and exhausted domestic and working animals team up to escape death by their human owners and finally occupy a house for their retirement. It refers to the empowerment of the weak in society, as well as tearing down an existing order.
It remains open whether the chopped animal feet symbolize the triumph of humans or the fear of the powerful, that the lower class can strengthen through solidarity. A fear and a repressed affect that returns, like Sigmund Freud described, as the uncanny.
In collaboration with Félicia Eisenring, 2016.
Special thanks to the Veterinary Anatomy Collection, Zurich.
Packan, detail, donkey hooves.
Packan, detail, chicken feet.
Packan, detail, dog paws.