Basel | ArtRegion: Basel - Oberrhein

Wilde Gallery

Mathieu Dafflon: Facewalk / Jumprope

2. April – 27. Mai 2022

Jumprope refers to a child’s game, playful learning, fun, and entertainment. Facewalk, on the other hand, is a vulgar expression that stands for failure, for „flying on one’s face,“ and for nevertheless dragging oneself along in this uncomfortable situation, for somehow carrying on. Facewalk / Jumprope is about the coming together of these two poles. In Mathieu Dafflon’s work, the artist is not a genius who provides us with universal answers to pressing questions. Rather, the artist acts as a sarcastic comedian and wistful observer. Dafflon’s exhibition is a playground where one can go on a personal journey of discovery – playful, failing, without dogmatism, but all the more fun.

In the center of the exhibition hangs a monumental painting that shows, in absurd enlargement, a broken cup. On it is the image of a comic character: a little devil with his eyes wide open and panting with exertion. The character comes from the series „Cow and Chicken.“ The notorious villain repeatedly lures the good-natured cow and chicken into various traps and frightens them with his often prominently staged nudity. In Dafflon’s painting, he holds his skinny legs up with his hands to sit on his rear end. Moving around in this pose is the so-called „buttwalk.“ This is not only mastered by the devil from the comic series but is also practiced as a strength exercise by numerous fitness fanatics, as evidenced by countless videos on YouTube or Instagram.