Ersatz und Teile refers to two curatorial studios and one exhibition platform based in Basel, Switzerland.
At one point, this project was called Soapbox. You know, the kind of tool that grants oversight and makes you stand out in a public square, usually accompanied by a megaphone and a message to spew.
But according to the The Great Almanach for Improvised Structures and Temporary Elevations (3rd edition, 2023, Better Material Press) a soapbox is a fickle construct. It refuses long-term elevation and, after 4 to 16 declarations (depending on the user), it either rolls itself into a corner or mutates into a podium.
In our case, the transition occurred somewhere between the 13th and 14th invocation, when the box grew a backbone and flipped into a retinent podium. The batteries of the megaphone died. We couldn’t change them, because we couldn't reach the podium. Question: Must we always be elevated to be heard?
The podium seemed hungry for the limelight. It wanted to expand its reach, cut shady deals if necessary, and become a celebrity in the art-micro-influencer circuit. That’s when we decided to part ways.
So we began looking for something other than a crate and a megaphone. No more dependence on the square, no more speeches, no more batteries. This project is now dedicated to seeking out Ersatzteile (German for spare parts) not to repair the old visibility machine, but to see what else can be collaged from its junky remains. Hopefully, this time it'll develop into a companion that doesn’t forget us along the way.
In the inaugural months, following something we call a meteorological tantrum inside the group, the collective achieved a state of perfect schism. The project underwent a grammatical amputation.
By inserting the wedge of a coordinating conjunction, the und, into the heart of Ersatzteile, the parts become at once related and estranged, even as they share the same shadow. Now, these twin entities, Ersatz and Teile, patrol the periphery of the Real.
Both halves chase a fragmented reality, collecting the severed limbs and orphaned functions of past apparatuses. What emerges are not displays in the typical sense, but exhibitionary protheses: ghost-machines that perform no task other than the magnificent, useless act of existing in pieces.
Ersatz is run by Vers Dor, Stefan Lux, and Roelien van der Sar.
Teile is run by Gritli Brüll and Lovis Rosencrantz.
Open by appointment only, unless otherwise stated.