«The World's Smallest Summit»
The St. Gallen-based artists Frank and Patrik Riklin (*1973) have been collaborating as the "Atelier für Sonderaufgaben" since 1999. The Studio's work involves practical assistance with the problems of daily life as well as art productions – their leitmotiv for all their actions is the concept of "everyday life."
The Atelier für Sonderaufgaben visited the six smallest politically autonomous districts in Switzerland and its neighbours France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy. The village mayors of Ornes (F), Morterone (I), Reussenköge (D), Gramais (A), Planken (FL) and Corippo (CH) were the protagonists in a video-essay that consists of staged scenes as well as documentary footage.
At the end of their visits, Frank and Patrik Riklin delivered to each mayor an invitation for a summit on the Kamor (Appenzell, CH).The essay-like video-installation relates the story of how the initial idea for the Worlds Smallest Summit became an event. Nevertheless, the contents of the meeting itself are beyond our knowledge and remain an object of speculation. Frank and Patrik Riklin manipulate signs and forms that are well-known from use in the organization and representation of international summits in order to redirect them toward a new context, giving political representatives the chance to truly get in touch with one another.
There is no external reason for this meeting of the six politicians to occur, rather it is solely initiated as an art project by the Atelier für Sonderaufgaben. It has little to do with specific issues or problems of political power, rather it is the creation of an atmosphere of human interaction. During the course of the project, formal encounters may actually become communities. The artists themselves call this social structure in their work "unusual communities".
With the generous support of the Ostschweizer Kunstschaffen Foundation and Nestlé Foundation pour l`Art.