Homo Helveticus

Stefan à Wengen's "Homo Helveticus" skulls made of dust have something relic-like, at least something fetish-like about them. From dust we came into being, to dust we become, so these objects are a truly explicit, albeit tongue-in-cheek, self-portrait of the artist. Dust is the matter that actually “falls off”. It consists of particles from the environment, from your own body or even from space. Dust is everywhere and is always swept up or collected in the respective vacuum cleaners. The artist first freezes “his fallen” dust for at least a week to kill bacteria, then presses it into a negative mold with a binding agent and then stuffs it. It is evident that one skull is darker in color than the others. This differing coloring is due to the fact that the artist collected the dust that fell off immediately after drawing some large-format charcoal paintings and that mixed with the residual dust in à Wengen's studio. So the skulls are relics as well as relics in which time is literally inscribed. More