CONQUERING HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM SINCE 2008 Benjamin Egger Tobeleggweg 18, 8049 Zürich +41 76 415 13 44 mail@benjaminegger.com
SCREW IT. I‘M GONNA START MY OWN PLANET, Performance view, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, 2022
SCREW IT. I‘M GONNA START MY OWN PLANET
A participatory project in cooperation with the Schütze School, the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst and the Blickfelder Festival 22 2022 If things continue as they are, it doesn‘t look so good for quite a few species that will soon lose their habitat due to the climate collapse, including humans, of course. A group of children from the Schütze school in Zurich has decided to prepare for this. On a newly founded planet, they create a new ecosystem and new creatures under new living conditions. They are inspired by the animal world, endemic species, dinosaurs, and speculative biology. They sketch and perform newly invented species and build models for the prototype of the new planet, at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst. Concept and realisation: Children:
Project management: Coordination: Teachers: Documentation: Video (process): Performance view, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, 2022
Benjamin Egger Julien Arni, Soha Bär, Novak Blascanin, Samuel Brisar, Fabio Cannizzo, Carl Henningsen, Elisabeth Hesse, Emilia Koch, Tenzin Silnon, Aebi Neva, Danika Burks, Kimey Casanova, Linus Hieber, Melik Jusufi, Elea Leyendecker, Luca Lippolis, Nicolas Meier, Viola Minuta, Elis Veseli, Janelle Washington Ford, Tosca Zimmermann, Emiliano Zimmermann, Nick Herzog, Alea Kadriu, Anik Ismaili, Bjordi Rustemi, Ramzan Zulfiqar, Tashi Tersey, Sadie Berisha, Eyla Muggli, Jon Remondino, Paul Schäppi, Nina Heidler, Ariel Jurt, Emilia Mendez, Erjon Selmani, Flurina Boos, Jonas Hanhart, Lara Lutz, Lenn Verbarg, Loïc Züger, Mai Rohner, Malin Frey, Marwin Aregger Tasnim Baghdadi, Cynthia Gavranic (Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst) Silvia HIldebrand (Kanton Zurich) Marcel Hörler (Blickfelder Festival) Sabine Duarte and Christian Strupler Raphael Stucky https://vimeo.com/722120997
SCREW IT. I‘M GONNA START MY OWN PLANET, Installation view, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, 2022
The dog in me, Performance view, Turdelhaus Baden, 2021
THE DOG IN ME Lecture-Performance 50‘ 00" 2021
Why, oh why, can‘t humans just be animals? In his performance Benjamin Egger lets a queer fetish-cat lecture the audience. Somewhere between stand-up-comedy, philosophical contemplation and animal-rights-activism the lecture is taking the audience on a journey to conquer the status quo. The sassy and ambiguous character embodied by David Attenberger dares the listeners to abandon their faith in human exceptionalism. Inspired by theorists of animal ethics, animal studies and queer feminism the cat seduces and makes fun of the audience at the same time. While constantly returning to the example of the dog, the cat’s speech is dismantling the dogs as allies of humankind. At the same time it acknowledges them as beings that evolved through their cooperation with these most widespread and destructive mammals. So, is it still reasonable to talk about dogs as non-human animals? Or should we not rather call them human animals? And what happens to the human animal then? Written and directed: Fetish-Cat:
Benjamin Egger David Attenberger
Costume: Mask:
Light design: Text: Dramurgical advice:
Benjamin Egger and Fantastic Rubber Benjamin Egger in collaboration with Florian Germann Benjamin Egger in collaboration with Ortreport Benjamin Egger and Jasmin Wiesli Benjamin Egger Teresa Vittucci
Vimeo (rehearsal): Password:
https://vimeo.com/686469083 KittyKatCampo
Cat pole:
The dog in me, Performance view, Theater Campo Nieuwpoort, Gent, 2022
The dog in me, Performance view, Theater Campo Nieuwpoort, Gent, 2022
Start sniffing. Go on all fours. Follow a smell. Don’t talk. Growl when you cross someone’s way. Explore the smell.
Instruction for a fortune cookie, Making a scene, Kunsthal Gent, 2021
And then we touch, Screening, Kino Houdini, Zürich, 2021
AND THEN WE TOUCH Video, Colour, Dolby 5.1, DCP 13‘ 30" 2021
The viewer becomes part of an intimate scene between two pupplayers in a living room. The close-up cinematography shows the soft touches and playful actions of two men dressed as dogs. AND THEN WE TOUCH confronts us with our own needs for sensuality, touch and playfulness as human animals. A shimmering space opens up when the human is touching the non-human. Egger raises our awareness of the performative nature of categories such as humanity and animality. In his cinematic essay he attempts to make up a post-human identity performed through bodily gestures and grunts. Becoming animal does not amount to a return to a so-called state of nature; on the contrary, it is a hybrid process, deeply “impure”, in which bodies and artifacts merge.
And then we touch, Screening, Kino Houdini, Zürich, 2021
Written and directed: Pupplayers:
Benjamin Egger Aslan and Noah
Cinematography: Sound recording and mix: Post production: Off-Voice: Poem: Title Design:
Andi Widmer Reto Stamm Silvio Gerber Darcy Alexandra Benjamin Egger Marlon Ilg
Vimeo: Password:
https://vimeo.com/517518583 AndOurWorldsCollide
And then we touch, Videostill, 2021
My hand is touching your fur Your teeth penetrate my skin All this togetherness on earth All these billions of interactions There are waves, concentric circles They interfere Amongst us And amongst our ancestors Too
To us, Dears Magazine for tranversal writing practices, Issue 1, 2020
Untitled, Installation view with Farok, Zurich University of the Arts, 2020
UNTITLED
Series of 24 Water Colours Each 625 x 880 mm 2020
24 water colours, 24 ways of touching a dog‘s head. We see the hand of Benjamin Egger and the head of his companion dog Farok in a series of water colours showing a choreography of touches. The series opens a space between care, intimacy and harassment, reflecting on our relationships, especially the ones with beings who are dependent on us.
Untitled, Installation view, Zurich University of the Arts, 2020
My body is because of dogs, Installation view, Hof Blum, Samstagern, 2020
MY BODY IS BECAUSE OF DOGS Video, Colour, Stereo, HD 14‘ 10" 2020
Benjamin Egger has spent days and nights with a pack of stray dogs in New Delhi. During the nights they are taking over the urban space for themselves. The video shows the pack at night while we are listening to thoughts on the evolutionary entanglement of dogs and human animals from the off. Egger‘s work rises questions about the influence of the dog on the human animal - not only on the social behavior, but also on the biological development. Human animals have lived with dogs for over 20,000 years. How has that shaped the human self-conception? How essential is the bond between these two hypercooperative species? How much dog is the human animal?
My body is because of dogs, Installation view, Hof Blum, Samstagern, 2020
Written and directed:
Benjamin Egger
Cinematography: Sound recording and mix: Off-Voice: Text:
Benjamin Egger Awah Kempf Teresa Vittucci Benjamin Egger
Vimeo: Password:
https://vimeo.com/557674645 itreallyis
My body is because of dogs, Video still, 2020
DOGS
Pigment print on Epson Mat Superior 841 x 1189 mm 2019 DOGS shows two different journeys of two different dogs: One is Cäcilie from Munich and the other is Dinkus from New Delhi. Cäcilie is a pet dog, who accompanies her human animal. Dinkus is a stray dog, who is able to range freely at anytime. Surprinsgly it is Dinkus who‘s radius of movement is much smaller than the one from Cäcilie. The print of the over-layered GPS-tracking-data is questioning the common understanding of freedom and at the same time is an illustrative example of the invasive behaviour of human animals documented through the tracking-data of a dog who accompanies one of them.
DOGS, GPS-tracking-data, Yellow: Dinkus, New Delhi, Blue: Cäcilie, Munich, 2019
CV Benjamin Egger Since 2019 Since 2015 2015 - 2017 2014 - 2015 2012 - 2014 2008 - 2010 2004 - 2008
Regularly teaching at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) Founder and member of the WOFF collective Institute for Contemporary Art Research, ZHdK Curatorial Team Corner College, Zurich Master Transdisciplinarity, ZHdK Member of eggerschlatter Fine Arts at ZHdK and Bezalel Academy for Arts Jerusalem
Grants&Prices 2022 Covid19-Workgrant, City of Zurich PinkLabel Award for AND THEN WE TOUCH, La fête du slip, Lausanne 2021 Honorable mention for AND THEN WE TOUCH, Flip the Script Fest, Minneapolis Covid19-Workgrant, City of Zurich 2019 Research Fellow, October School ZHdK, New Delhi 2015 - 2017 Project grant, Ernst Göhner Foundation 2009 - 2011 Studio grant, Binz39 foundation 2022 SCREW IT. I‘M GONNA START MY OWN PLANET, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Blickfelder Festival, Zürich AND THE WE TOUCH, official selection, La fête du slip, Lausanne AND THEN WE TOUCH and MY BODY IS BECAUSE OF DOGS, Kunsthal Gent, Belgium THE DOG IN ME, Theater Campo Nieuwpoort, Gent, Belgium 2021 AND THEN WE TOUCH, shorts program, Geneva International Film Festival AND THEN WE TOUCH, official selection, Swiss Competition, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur THE DOG IN ME, Bestia Rara, Trudelhaus Baden INSTRUCTION FOR A FORTUNE COOKIE, Making a Scene, Kunsthal Gent AND THE WE TOUCH, official selection, New Fest, New York City AND THEN WE TOUCH, official selection, El Festival Mix, Mexico City
AND THEN WE TOUCH, official selection, Flip the Script Fest, Minneapolis AND THEN WE TOUCH, official selection, Sicilia Queer Filmfest, Palermo MEET THE ARTIST, Kino XENIX, Zurich 2020 INHERENT CROSSING, Norm – It‘s not complicated, gallery l’élac, Lausanne MY BODY IS BECAUSE OF DOGS, VEE, Hof Blum, Samstagern LOLEK, Sweet little Sixteen, Kunsthaus Aussersihl, Zurich INHERENT CROSSING, Norm – It‘s not complicated, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich TO THE DOG, TO THE HUMAN, TO US, Audio-Version, Dears - Magazine for Transversal Writing Practices @Voice Message Project TO THE DOG, TO THE HUMAN, TO US, Dears - Magazine for Transversal Writing Practices, Issue 1, Zurich 2019 MY BODY IS BECAUSE OF DOGS, Tyger Tyger Burning Bright II, Kulturhaus Helferei, Zurich MY BODY IS BECAUSE OF DOGS, Tyger Tyer Burning Bright, Guarda DOGS, Salon d‘Art, Art Genève, Geneva 2018 FIRST FLASHMOB OF THE DOGS OF MUNICH, I‘ll be with you whatever, Wittelsbachersplatz, Munich 2017 INHERENT CROSSING, Art -An Evolutionary Approach, Museum of Anthropology, Zurich 2016 INHERENT CROSSING, Showroom Z+ N° 6: Kollaborationen, ZHdK, Zurich INTERVENING ZEMO NIKOZI, Installation in public space, Zemo Nikozi, Georgia STOKES, Evolving Design for Performance, Mingyuan Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai 2015 INHERENT CROSSING, Day of Research, ZHdK, Zurich