Infrastructural Double Life

In 2024, the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger KBH.G realised a two-part exhibition project with the author, filmmaker and curator Michael Schindhelm. A complex series of interior spaces was created for this, with walls fitted with screens and loudspeakers. The combination of elaborately designed walls and ceilings on the one hand and digital content on the other turned the rooms into immersive scenarios. In ‘The End of Aging’, this was a fictitious, abandoned hospital of the future, while in ‘Roots’ it was a historic hotel in Bali.

As visitors wandered through a control room, an operation theatre, a laboratory and a hospital recovery room, they experienced audiovisual scenarios of the near future. In the second part of the exhibition, they were given a comprehensive overview of the current state of scientific research and development in the field of longevity: how would we deal with people aged 150 years or older? Will we reach a point where it becomes necessary to enact a right to die?

The exhibition is modelled after Villa Iseh, which served as a retreat for the Russian-born German artist Walter Spies (1895 - 1942) and later became a popular destination for the rich and famous - including David Bowie, Yoko Ono and Mick Jagger. In the labyrinth of rooms, the eventful history of Walter Spies in Bali and its impact on Bali's subsequent transformation into a global tourist destination can be experienced. The influence of modern Western culture on Balinese cultural traditions can also be felt here. Walter Spies' impact on Bali's post-colonial cultural landscape still reverberates today.

Projections, screens, loudspeakers, headphones and various lights - the entire media technology for the two exhibitions was fully integrated into the interior fittings of the elaborately designed rooms. Software in the background enabled the centralised control and scheduling of all content. During events, speeches were broadcasted in all rooms with the help of microphone circuits.