For the launch of the first monograph dedicated to Séverin Guelpa by Aparté – Association pour la promotion d’artistes émergents – the artist will present his film Matza (2017) at Cinema Dynamo. Halfway between expedition, exploration and experimentation, Matza is an artistic initiative that brings together teams of artists and scientists around a work on the territory, its resources and democracy.

During this evening, Séverin Guelpa will also present his first monograph compiling the work carried out within the framework of the Matza projects with the complicity of Simon Lamunière, author of an essay on his work.

A true ancestor of popular petition, the “matze” is a tree trunk that was torn down and moved from village to village in Haut-Valais (Switzerland) at the end of the 15th century to mobilize inhabitants for a common cause. If they joined the cause, they would put a nail in the trunk as rallying sign. By seizing the “matze” as an object that links both resources and communities, Séverin Guelpa reenacts ancient societal codes in the name of art.

Matza Amboy, Matza Aletsch and Matza Kerkennah are all places of extreme conditions that have welcomed artists and interventions, and whose stages are described by Simon Lamunière in the three sections of this book.