Vergangenheit im Vorgarten. Die Panzersperre als Relikt: 1.3.2025 – 18.5.2025, Museum Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau.

I had the pleasure and honor to design the scenography for the exhibition Vergangenheit im Vorgarten. Die Panzersperre als Relikt: 1.3.2025 – 18.5.2025, Museum Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau, Co-curated by Barbara Ruf and Sønke Gau.

Since World War II, strange stone blocks have been appearing in the landscape. Now reclaimed by nature, they cut through meadows, cling to hills, and intersect hiking trails. As urbanization advances in the Swiss Plateau, these tank barriers are increasingly integrated into residential areas, creating surreal settings.

Originally placed at strategically important locations, the tank barriers in the canton of Aargau were meant to slow enemy advances. With the Army Reform of 1995, the concrete tank traps lost their military and strategic function and were decommissioned.

Based on an ethnographic-artistic research project the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), led by Simon Graf, the exhibition creates connections to the present. In addition to historical sources, contemporary artistic perspectives shed light on this supposed relic, bringing the former defense structures back from the past into the present.