Patrick Tschudi: Signs From Afar

With his “Signs from Afar” exhibition at the Alex Schlesinger gallery in Zurich, artist Patrick Tschudi is back working with physical materials, and explores one of his favourite themes - human relations and interactions.



Imagine walking along a street in the city and coming across a signpost asking you to hug the person next to you, or to play "Ring a Ring o' Roses" on the footpath with two complete strangers. 
These are things that could happen in Geneva, where artist Patrick Tschudi - who lives and works in Lima, Peru - has hung the images before showcasing his “Signs from Afar” project at the Alex Schlesinger gallery.



Patrick Tschudi has a degree in Fine Arts and painting and a Masters in art and new media; for about ten years now, he has focused his artwork on pictograms and vector images, mainly using digital media. 





Now, he has changed the material as the “medium used to (...) bring your creativity to life and make it visible”, as Paolo Schianchi defined it in his book on creativity and he has hand painted different pictograms on 50 cm x 50 cm aluminium sheets - the signs - inviting viewers to work on their human relations.
 





Positioned around the city of Geneva before the actual exhibition, these iconic motifs prick the defences of passers-by and confuse them, simply because while we are used to automatically obeying road signs, these ones tell us to act and interact in ways that we're not used to, and certainly not in a city and with people we don't even know.



Which is exactly what Patrick Tschudi wants to get across. He wants us to look beyond, to be open to “signs from afar” that remind us of our humanity, being affectionate and bonding with others, not just connecting via electronic devices, but much more simply with a look, with an action.



So, what are you waiting for? Take your eyes off the screen, stand up and hug whoever is closest to you. Feels good, doesn't it?

Christiane Bürklein

Exhibition: Signs from Afar
by Patrick Tschudi http://www.patricktschudi.net/
Location: Alex Schlesinger Gallery, Zurich http://www.galas.ch/
Dates: 1 April to 14 May 2016
Images: © Patrick Tschudi