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Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.

Diary of an artist-in-residence: Report from Verbier #1

Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.

VERBIER, Switzerland – The town of Verbier nestles on the slopes of the Swiss Alps and is a place of outstanding natural beauty. The 3-D residency is offered to artists who can produce monumental work that will work with the stunning landscape.

To my great pleasure I was invited to participate this year.

The journey to Verbier is a surprising one. The ‘double decker’ trains run along the edge of Lake Geneva, which seems as large as an inland sea, the landscape slowly rising behind the lake as the journey progresses until you are dwarfed by the scale of the mountains.

I arrive, perfectly on time as you would expect in Switzerland, to be collected by Kerry Jane. She is working for the 3-D foundation as a writer and is a bright and vivacious woman who engages me in wonderfully relaxed conversation as we begin to climb the winding road that leads up, and up, to Verbier. What is amazing about the relaxed nature of her conversation and graceful driving style is that the road is a terrifying switchback of tortured curves that flirt with precipitous drops and hazards without any respite. I therefore arrive cool and calm in a living picture postcard that is Verbier. The slopes above me are dotted with chalets and twisting tracks that are quintessentially Swiss. For those of you who remember the cartoon ‘Heidi,’ this is the real life version!

I am introduced to the organizer and founder member of the residency, Kiki Thompson, who’s easygoing manner immediately makes me feel comfortable. She introduces me to the other artists involved. Onyedika Chuke, a tall, striking young man working out of New York, is so charismatic I almost take a step back as he greets me with a warm handshake. Then there is Julien Marolf, a Swiss artist, who has a mischievous but very friendly look and a reassuringly firm handshake. Elly Cho is a video artist originally from Korea who is bubbly and makes a great show of welcoming me to the enormous ‘tent’ that will serve as our studio for the next month. Sabine Zaalene is the enigmatic performance/ installation artist who is not around but will appear, no doubt unexpectedly, some time soon. Sabine confirms my expectation and appears the next day. She is quiet and friendly and I imagine will disappear again without warning.

My materials are on site, my crate of tools from England has been delivered, and I feel excited about starting work. Kiki says to me, ‘I will take you up the mountain to see where you would like to put your sculpture!’ What a treat, a gift for an artist to have such an offer.

But tomorrow is my workshop with the local Swiss school, a group of seven-year-old children. They speak no English and my schoolboy French is barely dusted off after 30 years of non use…. tomorrow could be interesting!

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.
Courtesy of Jonathan Wright.