Pedro Wirz
Bally Artist Award 2023
Pedro Wirz, a Swiss-Brazilian artist born in 1981 and living in Zurich, won the Bally Artist Award 2023 with a project that questions class prerogatives, hierarchical power and archetypal, unchanging positions in society.
Installation view “Pedro Wirz. Diplomatic Immunity” © MASI Lugano, photo: Luca Meneghel
The installation Diplomatic Immunity presented at MASI Lugano in the Palazzo Reali (June 4 - July 23) comprises 12 sculptures and 3 wall bas-reliefs. The 12 busts symbolize positions of leadership (a king, a president, a pope, a rabbi, etc.), each reflecting a particular hierarchy of power, whether economic, religious, political or socio-cultural in origin. These busts are made from a variety of materials gleaned by Pedro Wirz in his studio, in the spirit of Constructivist artist Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau (1933). Through this creative improvisation, Pedro Wirz imitates the continual accumulation effect of capitalism. Through a precarious aesthetic, he also refers to symbols of power that have fallen into ruin. The box-shaped wall bas-reliefs continue a series begun in 2019 that, metaphorically and abstractly, evoke television screens or smartphones. They represent landscapes invaded by human in various ways, ecosystems homogenized by technological intervention.
Installation view “Pedro Wirz. Diplomatic Immunity” © MASI Lugano, photo: Luca Meneghel
The configuration of the 13 busts in space comes from the research carried out by the artist through eminent gatherings such as the G7, the Club of Rome, or even the Last Supper in the biblical narrative. Their installation allows just enough room for visitors to circulate, the busts almost becoming obstacles to be circumvented carefully. The work thus questions the dichotomy between competition and cooperation, and questions the meaning of a “more sustainable society”, most often considered from an economic perspective. “To enter a more sustainable existence, we must confront the reality and the difficulties of cohabitation. We must go far beyond our own lives, our wishes and our vanity, and even beyond the inheritance of a family name, or principles encouraged by religious leaders or mythological figures. We need to think not as individuals but as species, that is, as inhabitants of the earth, earthlings, brothers and sisters destined to coexist simultaneously and respectfully,” says Pedro Wirz.
Installation view “Pedro Wirz. Diplomatic Immunity” © MASI Lugano, photo: Luca Meneghel