Roman Signer and Chim↑Pom speak to Art Basel film curator Li Zhenhua about their respective films 'Action with Sheets of Paper' and 'BLACK OF DEATH'

Watch the final installment of the digital film program: Roman Signer and ​Chim↑Pom

Art Basel's digital film program closes with a double bill by&nbsp;Roman Signer and Chim↑Pom: Action with Sheets of Paper&nbsp;and BLACK OF DEATH. Read interviews with the artists below, and catch the films&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/stories/digitalfilmprogramlizhenhua" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;To mark the close of documenta 8 in September 1987, Swiss artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7660/Roman-Signer" target="_blank">Roman Signer</a> staged the work Aktion vor der Orangerie (Action in front of the Orangerie). He created a row of 350 stacks of paper, each containing 1,000 sheets, using the rebuilt baroque castle Orangerie as a backdrop. With the help of a pyrotechnician, the artist set off a massive explosive charge, catapulting the 350,000 sheets of paper into the air before a crowd of people. The explosion resulted in a spectacular fluttering wall of paper roughly 50 feet high and 1000 feet long. This film documents the live event.&nbsp;Curator Li Zhenhua spoke to the artist ahead of the program's launch.


	Li Zhenhua:&nbsp;Can you tell us about the world in 1987 and how it relates to your work at documenta?

	 Roman Signer:&nbsp;The work doesn’t refer to the political situation at that time. I’d started to develop this work much earlier. First tests were made in 1981. In the beginning I wanted to make a wall of water. But then I decided to use paper instead. My initial idea for documenta was a huge spiral lying on the grass made of fuses connected to each other. The spiral would have burnt as long as the documenta lasted.
LZ:&nbsp;What is the concept of time sculptures&nbsp;in your work?
RS:&nbsp;I’m fascinated by the factor of time. It’s about transformation. In Aktion vor der Orangerie (1987) there are three different phases: the stacks of paper, the explosion, the paper scattered on the lawn, looking like a snow field.LZ:&nbsp;The world is still in a state of isolation and there is no telling how much longer it will last. What have you been doing since 2020?RS:&nbsp;I continued working. As there weren’t many exhibitions taking place, I was mostly working for myself. I did experiments in nature and I drew a lot. There was always something to do. But it wasn’t as enjoyable as before. Usually after I do a test at Weissbad in Appenzell we go for a drink. This of course wasn’t possible anymore.

In this guerrilla art act,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/21955/Chim-Pom" target="_blank">Chim↑Pom</a>&nbsp;uses a stuffed crow and recordings of crow calls broadcast on speakers to attract the birds. The artist collective gathers a&nbsp;of crows in front of the Japan National Diet Building and in the busy streets of Shibuya. The species has infested most of Japan, and have evolved to become smarter. They are akin to super rats, eating food waste and proving impervious to extermination. In 2013, this idea was used on crows that had proliferated from feeding on livestock left in the exclusion zone in Fukushima, allowing people to shepherd them out of the zone.&nbsp;Curator Li Zhenhua spoke to the artist ahead of the program's launch, and you can watch the film <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/stories/digitalfilmprogramlizhenhua">here</a>.Li Zhenhua: What is Mono-ha in Japan? Why does Chim↑Pom call themselves Post Mono-ha?Chim↑Pom: We reference it in the series description for Pavilion, in which we create site-specific works from things. Because most of our members haven’t received formal art education, from the start we preferred to make works using existing things than to create pieces based on fiction. We’ve used things like living animals, plants, iconic objects that are site-specific to the exhibition space, or even department store signs, Taro Okamoto’s remains that were hidden in the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, tears of bereaved family members from the 2011 tsunami, and floors and pieces of furniture from abandoned buildings. Our very direct style in producing work feeds into how we often end up dealing with current social issues or situations.LZ: Now that the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident is back in the spotlight, how is your project doing?Chim↑Pom: Last year, a section of the exclusion zone was reopened in time for the 2020 Olympics. Up to that point, Don’t Follow the Wind was held in four venues, but one of the venues, along with the artwork that was displayed, was torn down due to the reopening. Now we have three venues.LZ: The world is still in a state of isolation and there is no telling how much longer it will last. What have you been doing since 2020?Chim↑Pom: In May 2020, the Olympics were postponed, and the government declared a state of emergency in Tokyo. We did a billboard project outside during that month when the city was completely deserted. [We] installed billboards painted with cyanotype sensitizer in various locations where traffic dramatically decreased. [We] left these signboards out for two weeks, printing traces of the unchanged environment–rain, sunlight, wavering shadows–onto the screen, marking the passing of time.

More on&nbsp;the digital&nbsp;film program can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/stories/digitalfilmprogramlizhenhua" target="_blank">here</a>.Roman Signer is represented by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1658/Stampa" target="_blank">Stampa</a> (Basel),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1526/Galerie-Barbara-Weiss" target="_blank">Barbara Weiss</a> (Berlin), Galerie Art: Concept (Paris),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1153/Hauser-Wirth" target="_blank">Hauser &amp; Wirth&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1542/Galerie-Martin-Janda" target="_blank">Galerie martin Janda</a> (Vienna).Chim↑Pom is reprensnted by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/15651/Anomaly" target="_blank">ANOMALY</a> (Tokyo) and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1412/Mujin-to-Production#overview" target="_blank">MUJIN-TO Production</a> (Toyko).Top image: Roman Signer, Action of Sheets of Paper, 1987. Courtesy of&nbsp;the artist.

Roman Signer Aktion vor der Orangerie/Action in front of the Orangerie 1987 Documentary 5'05"Chim↑Pom BLACK OF DEATH 2013 Documentary 8'53"

Roman Signer and Chim↑Pom speak to Art Basel film curator Li Zhenhua about their respective films 'Action with Sheets of Paper' and 'BLACK OF DEATH'

Welcome,

Watch the final installment of the digital film program: Roman Signer and Chim↑Pom

Watch the final installment of the digital film program: Roman Signer and ​Chim↑Pom

Watch the final installment of the digital film program: Roman Signer and Chim↑Pom