Gabriel Stöckli's Innocent Ambiguity: Miniature Worlds and Analog Illusions

Swiss artist Gabriel Stöckli, currently in residence at the Istituto Svizzero di Roma, creates works that explore accumulation, scale, and hidden views. His series 'Cassetto' consists of handmade semi-open boxes containing miniature dioramas with lights and found objects collected over years. In 'All’entrata dell’occhio', a tiny train carrying photographs, erasers, and clippings moves in a circle; the piece was shown at Spazio Lampo in Chiasso, where Stöckli used parchment paper and directed light to project the train's shadow outside, creating a double vision. Both works were featured in his recent solo exhibition, which reads as a poetic monument to childhood and memory. Stöckli employs analog special effects, DIY techniques, and material economy, often reusing objects. His practice references Marcel Duchamp's ready-mades and portability, as well as voyeuristic elements. The artist's small scale and precarious materials reflect a generational condition of those in their thirties and forties in the declining West, dealing with unlimited choices and frustration. Stöckli's work has been described as that of a stubborn, visionary bricoleur with a touch of shyness.