A forest in another dimension

Early this year I pressured my colleague Aleks into going to the Kunsthaus, although he’s more of a fan of hip-hop than he is of oil-based paintings. But the Kunsthaus offers free entry for everyone every Wednesday. And alongside Monet, Chagall, and the ever-controversial Emil Bührle Collection, the Kunsthaus also offers a peek into a different world: «Pixelwald» by Pipilotti Rist. Maybe Aleks came along with me out of good will, maybe because it didn’t cost anything, or maybe it was a bit of both. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m here to see «Pixelwald» for the third time, and I never get bored by it. The installation is in a dark room, populated with hordes of snowball-sized orbs of light pulsing in what seems like a billion different colors, in time to ethereal music. The light installation is like an ocean of color – if post-climate catastrophe forests end up looking like this, then they may not give us air to breathe, but they’ll inspire our dreams. Aleks’ jaw drops when he enters the room. We find a place to the side to stand, and stay for 15 minutes, speechless the whole time. I listen to the music, which dominates the installation with the lights. Once, when all the lights were blue and white, I was reminded of a glacier and I felt deeply touched – at which point Aleks turns to me and says, not unquietly: «It’s cool. Reminds me a bit of Matrix Resurrection. It’s in theaters now, and tickets are cheaper on Mondays. In case you didn’t know.»

I have to laugh, and then I promise him I’ll keep next Monday open.

Picture: Caroline Minjolle, © Pipilotti Rist

…  is the installation «Pixelwald» (2021) part of the Merzbacher collection, which – alongside other collections – opened in fall 2020 in the Kunsthaus Zürich’s brand-new Chipperfield extension. The «Pixelwald» comprises some 3,000 LED lights, hung from the ceiling on liana-like cables, each spreading a whisper of magic. Each LED light is housed in a cocoon of thermoplastic material and is individually controlled by a video signal. The technique allows the forest to come to life and change endlessly

A further work by Pipilotti Rist is located between the two Kunsthaus buildings on Zurich’s Heimplatz, connecting them: «Tastende Lichter» («Tactile Lights») is a mast-like yellow pole that projects colored circular spotlights onto the surrounding facades and ground during the evening hours of the fall and winter, when the sun goes down early.