EN
Raphael Reichert is a multidisciplinary artist focused on video and installation. In the base of his work is the process of collecting and assembling different material into a collage of (moving) imagery, sounds and words. His motivation is to deconstruct and reconstruct cultural and social topics in order to rethink conventions and prejudice. The material he uses varies from excerpts of daily newspapers, stock footage as well as self-taken imagery, interviews led by the artist and scribbles from his notebooks. He uses these collections as blocks from which he builds and creates commentaries ranging from documentary approaches to colorful and absurd thought experiments.
Reichert‘s work has been exhibited mainly nationally but has also been shown in group shows and screenings internationally, including shows at Kunsthaus Glarus and Kunst(zeug)haus in 2021, a duo show with Ivana Kvesić at Ausstellungsraum Klingental in 2020 and various self-organized duo and group shows. In 2022, Reichert presented his first solo show with contributions by Leah Studinger, titled „Opt-in“ at Architektur Forum Ostschweiz (St.Gallen, CH), followed by a duo show with Leah Studinger at Hiltibold St.Gallen, CH) and a solo show at Peripherie8 (Basel, CH) in 2023.
Originally from Lviv, UKR, Sofiia Shymanska was born and raised there while pursuing her studies in fashion design. However, due to the escalation of a large-scale conflict, she had to relocate to Switzerland, where she currently continues her educational journey.
To me it only made sense to spend a whole day out of the two available days to connect on a personal level with my interview partner Sofiia and thereby taking enough time to build some trust through shared stories, humor and very importantly: cooking. The latter came quite spontaneously and we were able to loosen up a lot by preparing a traditional ukrainian dish called ‘Syrniki’. Unfortunately these were made with not so traditional ingredients, due to the lack of availability here in Switzerland. After cooking and of course eating this wonderful ukrainian pancake variation, we were ready to dive deeper into our carefully collectively selected questions on the second day. We chose the medium of drawing to answer the questions and in the end I filled in Sofiia into what I had been planning: Creating a wallpaper that appropriate the aesthetics of traditional ukrainian embroideries.
You can find below some quick sketches of how they might look applied to an exhibition wall. The final product will again be a collaboration between the two of us and I am looking forward to continuing this process of artistic exchange.
Raphael Reichert
The project was intriguing because it provided an opportunity to connect and get to know diverse individuals with different backgrounds, yet sharing a common need to express themselves. From a therapeutic perspective, this interview offered me a sense of being heard and understood.
Sofiia Shymanska