Waking up on a train for passport inspections while it never felt like crossing a border; temptations make me leave you as soon as I arrive. Within a stone's throw of two other countries, one can't set out to stay in only one, even if it is just for a day, becoming a perpetual migrant upon arrival. Your old city centre's charm soon forgotten while walking along unfriendly roads and train tracks with unsightliness set in stone and concrete and crossing over never-ending bridges to either get away or closer to what my memory promised me so falsely sweetly.

I find myself encased in the sound of your different languages

In time – for the sun is setting, having no alternative, on the endlessly flowing river Rhine, and the equal stream of people flocking to its waterfront, seemingly having no alternate option either, while the earth turns around itself another time – I find myself encased in the sound of your different languages, and at least once you seem to get closer to those charming mental images, I kept in my memory of times gone by.

14^th JUN. 2013

BASEL

‘Tracking Basel, CHE / Weil am Rhein, DEU’, 2013.

CAD-drawing,
print on paper,
100 W x 100 H cm,
[39.4 W x 39.4 H in.].

Far removed from the storms of political turmoil, the rest of the world fell under - away from wars and droughts - nestled among picturesque mountains, flowing gently towards the north shore of your own body of water. Split by the river into two sides of enchanting lanes, telling stories of bygone pre-medieval days, luxury woven into the stream, as narrow alleys make you wonder if you lost your way. Climbing up cobblestone streets or cutting through the city’s fabric in shortcuts running downhill, where history whispers and modernity hums.

where history whispers and modernity hums

Who can claim your luxury if not for the bankers and financiers who made you? Constantly confusing themselves in a mixture of understatement and status symbols, a curious blend of modesty and opulence, where echoes of the past still lie. Its haven for the arts is what drew me here, where nature and culture coexist in harmony. A timeless gem that shines brighter with every turn only competing with the shimmering water on its doorstep, where the past lingers, and the future thrives forever blending the old and the new.

ZURICH

‘ZURICH, CHE’, 2024.

CAD-drawing,
print on paper,
100 W x 100 H cm,
[39.4 W x 39.4 H in].

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FLIGHTS

5

TRAIN RIDES

2

CITIES

5

DAYS

146