nine to five: Eva Zornio – 33 Drawings of Empathy (2019/2020)

täglich vom 19.–30. Juni 2020, von 21 bis 5 Uhr am Grand Palais

The nomadic exhibition series “nine to five” proposes an alternative spatiality and a different time logic. At irregular intervals, various artists present their moving images in public space. Each video will be projected on several consecutive days, on weekdays and weekends, from 9 pm to 5 am in a loop. Curated by Deborah Müller

33 Drawings of Empathy is based on a so-called “Study of Empathy” organized last year by Eva Zornio. Inspired by the modus operandi of “Artistic Research”, she carefully created a semi-scientific framework in which all 33 participants of the study were asked to complete a questionnaire about their own empathic skills before drawing their idea of empathy on a piece of paper. The results were compiled and the whole series now unfolds on the screen every night. How can empathy be translated and mediated? How is it produced? If it is produced differently, is it also felt differently? By focusing on techniques of expression, mediation and translation of empathy and revealing its production process, the video decisively questions the widespread idea of empathy as a universal emotion that every human being possesses. While a slight critique of its potential for capitalist fetishization and political instrumentalization as a simple solution to complex conflicts is discernible, the transformative potential of empathy is not dismissed: 33 Drawings of Empathy invites us to look at the funny, naive, complicated as well as cheerful drawings, which differ greatly in color, form and style, in order to reflect on the more complex, comprehensive process of affection and being affected.

Eva Zornio (*1987) lives in Geneva, where she recently graduated from Haute école d’art et de design (HEAD). In 2018, she co-founded a research unit called “Affective Evaluation”. More information: www.evazornio.com

Image credits: © Nico Müller/Grand Palais, 2020.