Denise Bertschi: Oasis of Peace. Neutral Only On The Outside

The exhibition “Oasis of Peace. Neutral Only On The Outside” establishes unexpected links between Switzerland and two regions of major geopolitical importance: firstly, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea; and secondly, apartheid South Africa. Switzerland has played its cards cleverly, in both cases, using to its own ends a “neutrality” that the historian Hans-Ulrich Jost has characterized as “self-serving“ and “dualist“. Using the tools of historians, anthropologists, or investigative journalists, she creates installations and videos in which archival documents and personal photographs commingle with the narratives of the people she encounters and the findings of her own research.