The Walk

"The Walk" is both a study and the upshot of a long-term project at the interface between photography and architecture. The point of departure for this project was an excursion to Italy in October 2012, which brought together students from the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe (HfG, University of Arts and Design in Karlsruhe, Germany) and the ETH Zurich in close collaboration with Italian creative professionals engaged in the cultural sector. They began their walk at Mount Vesuvius, which towers over the area. Applying the principle that structures of public space can be laid bare by traversing an area on foot, the group walked across the outlying areas between Naples and Pompeii. As a historical symbol of menace and ruin, Pompeii epitomizes this whole area of Italy, which awaits its own destruction under the ominous presence of the volcano.
The group collectively explored the outskirts of Naples and focused their attention on the social structure of the city, noting the contrasts between public and private space as well as the residents’ dwindling control over public space. As a reflection on and reaction to this walk, the students from HfG’s New Media Art & Photography Department put together an exhibition reconstructing the topography of their expedition.
The show at the ETH Zurich reactivates the HfG exhibition with a walk through the underground of campus Hönggerberg. Using available archival material from the history of gta exhibitions, the presentation in Zurich explores experimental forms display that reflect the venue’s specific location in the Architecture Department on Hönggerberg.

The opening event will include a walk through the underground of the ETH Hönggerberg, organized by the Lehrcanapé, with Mathias Brühlmann and Marie-Anne Lerjen, followed by a roundtable discussion on the subject of the walk in art and architecture with professors Philip Ursprung, Armin Linke and Michael Clegg, and Stalker (Lorenzo Romito & Giulia Fiocca).

An exhibition by gta Exhibitions and HfG Karlsruhe, New Media Art & Photography Department in association with the chairs of Philip Ursprung (ETH Zurich), Armin Linke (HfG) and Michael Clegg (HfG). With contributions by Lisa Bergmann, Haishu Chen, Michael Clegg, Lorena Garcia Castro, Robert Hamacher, Gloria Hasnay, Alexander Jackson Wyatt, Armin Linke, Judith Milz, Wataru Murakami, Lena Rossbach, Alina Schmuch, Franca Scholz, Paulina Semkowicz, Claudia de la Torre, Maxim Weirich, Tobias Wootton, Jonas Zilius. The walk in Naples was organized and conceptually prepared by Stalker (Lorenzo Romito, Giulia Fiocca), the artist Matteo Fraterno and the cultural organisation Sudlab.