Naked Audience
Photo (c) Horst Jerina, Body and Freedom Festival 2015
Thomas Zollinger (*1952) ist Initiant und Kurator des Body and Freedom Festival, Konzept- und Performancekünstler. Seine Arbeiten betreffen seit 1994 partizipative und performative Inszenierungen des menschlichen Körpers, oft mit Gruppen bis zu 30 Personen und im Stadtraum. Sein Fokus liegt auf Performances des Gehens und des Stehens, seit 2008 vor allem nackt. Grosses Aufsehen erregte er zuletzt 2014 mit dem „Naked Slow Walk“ am „Zagreb I love you Festival“. Am Body and Freedom Festival beteiligt sich Thomas Zollinger mit 2 partizipativen Projekten, „Naked Audience #1“ und „Prozession der Nackten #2“.
Thomas Zollinger est l’initiateur et le directeur artistique du Festival. Depuis 1994, son travail consiste en la mise en scène du corps humain au moyen de performances artistiques participatives, souvent avec des groupes allant jusqu’à 30 personnes et se produisant au centre-ville. Thomas Zollinger se concentre sur des productions ayant comme thèmes la marche et l’immobilité dans l’espace. Depuis 2008, il met en scène essentiellement des personnes nues. En 2014, il produisit un étonnement général au festival « Zagreb I love you » avec le «Naked Slow Walk». Au Festival Body and Freedom il présente deux performances ouvertes à la participation, „Naked Audience #1“ et „Procession of the Naked #2 “.
Thomas Zollinger (*1952) is initiator and curator of Body and Freedom Festival. He lives and works in Biel and Zurich, Switzerland. His conceptual work involves minimal art performances of standing and slow walking. Beginning in 1991 with Ritual Theatre, he has progressively elaborated his idea of participative performances in durational projects such as the „12th months performance“ in which he ritualized elementary human actions (1998/1999) or the prolonged 3-years-performance CH LOVES ART (1998-2001), concerning the requirements of artist’s existence in Switzerland. His focus lies on the absence of objects, materials, requisits and the use of nothing beyond human presence. During his „expedition.02“ from Strasbourg F to Sion CH (2002) he was physically walking along the language borders of these areas and in the following years he has created and varied many walking and standing projects. His work has been shown in cities such as Linz (European Capital of Culture), Murcia (Manifesta8), Biennial of Lanzarote and public spaces throughout Europe (Istanbul, Bodrum, Tromsö, Dresden, Feldkirch). Since 2008 he realizes naked performances (solo / group) in urban space, for example „Naked Ufo“ with 18 participants as an off-project to the Swiss sulpture exhibition (2009) and the „Naked Art Walk“ Zurich (2012), recently the „Naked Slow Walk“ in the „Zagreb I love you Festival“ (2014). It was shown in the Croatia TV and there were short reports in online-medias all over Europe. In Body and Freedom Festival Thomas Zollinger will be engaged in the realisation of two participative projects.
Photos 1-2 (c) Regina Jäger, 3-5 (c) Horst Jerina, 6 (c) Roshan Adhihetty
Photo (c) Tomislav Čuveljak, Naked Slow Walk, Zagreb I Love You Festival, Sept 2014