Train Zug Treno Tren. Let’s meet at the station

As the classic locus of reunions, departures, and chance encounters, the station and the train are places in which life plays out, spaces that are especially favorable to the imagination. This union of reality and fiction lies at the heart of the story told by the exhibition “Rencontrons-nous à la gare (Let’s Meet at the Station)”, which is punctuated with objects that spring from the field of design as well as contemporary artworks. Extending and rounding out this wonderful range of items are moving images from the worlds of advertising and music videos. Archival footage from the Swiss federal railway network can be seen alongside artworks by Christian Boltanski, Salvador Dali, Sophie Calle, Marina Abramovic, and Studio Job.

With the aim of bringing about a dialogue between the materiality of objects and a fictional component, a pulp novel, an authentic contemporary roman de gare, is part and parcel of the exhibition. Published by Editions Zoé, the work, titled “Terre-des-Fins”, was written by three established authors, Bruno Pellegrino, Aude Seigne, and Daniel Vuataz. Echoing the novel, the show offers the chance to become, at least for time it takes to tour it, the character in the story to which one would like to belong.