Histoires de violence at Galerie LAC, Vevey

The exhibition 'Histoires de violence' at Galerie LAC in Vevey, Switzerland, from November 26, 2011 to January 15, 2012, explores various forms of violence through the works of five Vaudois artists: Hugo Bonamin, Thomas Koenig, Nicholas Marolf, Sébastien Mettraux, and Darren Roshier. The project originated from a meeting of three of the artists. Mettraux's neon sign alternates 'never' and 'ever' depending on light intensity, creating indeterminacy. Roshier invites viewers to destroy polystyrene words after reading them. Bonamin shot a Gandhi portrait installation with a .22 rifle, referencing the Mahatma's assassination and Chris Burden's 1971 'Shoot'. Koenig uses collages of pop culture detritus and mismatched furniture. Marolf's work references Paul Celan's poem 'Tenebrae' with a photographic triptych and video projection of a walking figure, set in a vaulted cellar with dangling wires, evoking a torture chamber.