Wasserfront

Alexandra Maurer, an artist originally from St. Gallen and now based in Geneva, works across painting and video. Between 2008 and 2010 in particular, she developed a series of works using the technique of animated painting.

Wasserfront, one of the most ambitious works from this period, comprises three large-scale projections combining documentary footage with animated paintings, alongside two smaller projections displayed on a side wall. The title refers to the water cannons violently deployed against demonstrators. The protest documented in the work took place in Tehran on 20 June 2009, during demonstrations against the Iranian regime. The installation pays tribute to Neda Agha-Soltan, who became a symbol of the Iranian protest movement after she was fatally shot during the demonstration while standing up for freedom and women’s rights.

For the work, Maurer staged and filmed three performers in close-up, adopting the postures of people struggling against the force of water cannons. The three bodies attempt to shield themselves beneath a blanket, which is gradually torn apart. The artist then produced painted versions of these gestures of resistance and incorporated them into the filmed sequences using stop-motion animation.

The flow of water moves from left to right across the installation, a movement further reinforced by the composition and spatialisation of the six-channel sound.