Spieglein, Spieglein
An exhibition by Sylvain Gelewski
25.04–19.05.2024

As the result of a 4-months residency, Sihl Delta is pleased to present Sylvain Gelewski’s "Spieglein, Spieglein", a multi-disciplinary and site-specific installation spreading over two spaces. Its title is inspired by the repeated phrase of a witch from a popular children’s story. The phrase is used here literally, as an advertising slogan, in reaction to Sihl Delta’s location in the heart of a shopping complex. It is also applied in a physical way, through the mirror effect created by the installation and the pieces that make it up, repeated or duplicated from one room of the exhibition space to the next. The project deals with the circulation of money, superficiality and working environments in the cultural world.

What do we see reflecting in the mirror? We project beauty, health, careers, and money onto ourselves. We tell ourselves to be careful, to keep smiling, but also to secure a house, a job, and a planet. In the face of a challenging world, what are the true battles to fight? What happened to the carefree days of flowers?

Curatorial support by Camille Regli
Performer: María Sabato
Dramaturgy: Anissa Nussbaumer
Soundtrack: Henry Sims
Costumes, masks: Ernestyna Orlowska
Graphic design: Elea Rochat

Sylvain Gelewski is an artist and curator who graduated from HEAD-Geneva in 2019. His work encompasses painting, installation, writing, performance, and curating. He is interested in lists, colours, political events, neurodivergence, and the value of work, through a play between norms and their most superfluous details. Recent solo projects include Back Beat Bolaget, Sandviken, SE (2023); Dogo Residenz, Lichtensteig, CH (2021); E-Werk, Freiburg im Breisgau (2020); Théâtre Pitoëff, Geneva (2019). Recent group projects include HiFlow, Geneva (2024); Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel; Raum für Sichtbarkeit, Berlin (2023); Flux Laboratory, Geneva; der TANK, Basel (2022); Cité internationale des arts, Paris (2021); Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva; Fabienne Levy Gallery, Lausanne; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Yverdon-les-Bains (2020); Archivio Conz, Berlin (2019).

Generously supported by Fonds Cantonal d’Art Contemporain Genève, Temperatio-Stiftung, République et canton de Genève, Oertli Stiftung.