Avatar tours #3: Zurich


During the exhibition period in winter 2020/21, Willimann/ Arai have explored the surroundings of the Helmhaus Museum through the Avatar willimannarai, who found the usually busy area in a state of exceptional silence due to people’s restricted freedom of movement. The mappings of these walks were exhibited as part of the performative installation, forming a constantly growing and changing landscape.

In early summer 2021, Avatar willimannarai invited the local audience to a city tour, in which she shared the findings of their research. Guiding the audiences through this historic area of the town, willimannarai introduced them to several beings and their stories that are given little attention in the official historiography: Among them the animal guides who appeared to Charles the Great and led the religious sisters Hildegard and Bertha to Zurich, the forgotten fates of so-called witches, the infamous dwarves of Zurich, various re-incarnations of Zeus and a powerful abbess who supposedly protected Zurich from civil war.