GREGOR KUSCHMIRZ AND RAFFAELE GROMPONE

Gregor Kuschmirz works as designer and artist working at the intersections of economy, culture and science. He reflects social consequences of technological change through audio-visual, conceptual, speculative and interactive setups, while agitating for responsible use of media within the framework of applied arts. After graduating from Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and Munich University of Applied Sciences, Gregor then spent several years working in Italy, Egypt, Vietnam and China, working as an artist and media and communications designer. His work has been exhibited at Centre Pompidou in Paris, Shanghai Art Museum, La Casa Encendida in Madrid and the European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück. In 2010, he participated in the porcelain workshop at Boisbuchet. He is currently based in Ravensburg, Germany, where he teaches Intermedia Design at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences. 

Raffaele Grompone is a scientist, currently doing research on computer vision. In his free time, he collaborates with Gregor on active installation work.

The residency allowed the two to have two weeks of intensive collaboration, which is something they have not had the chance to do in the past. It also gave them access to the facilities at Boisbuchet, from the workshop to the variety of sites they could use to complete their interactive installation, whilst at the same time giving them opportunity to work and collaborate in the natural landscape of Boisbuchet. Their project, entitled Sisyphus, after the myth of the Greek king who is forced to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, visualises the human ambition of reaching for something higher in the form of coils of wire, which roll towards the ceiling and then unwind once they reach the top. The wires act autonomously, having been pre-programmed to wind and unwind for extended periods of time. For the future, Rafael and Gregor will continue to collaborate on this project and experiment and extend its potential in another exhibitive context.