Com&Com: BLOCH. Compilation (2011-2020)

Video compilation of Bloch's journey to 15 places in 7 countries on 5 continents:
Urnäsch - St.Gallen - Bern - Berlin - Basel - Karlsruhe - Shanghai - Teufen - North Dakota - Canada - Cincinnati - New York - Cape Town - Johannesburg - Antofagasta - San Pedro de Atacama (2011-2019)
Edited by Thomas Rickenmann for Centre Pompidou Metz (FOLKLORE, 20.3. - 21.9.2020)
www.bloch.art
BLOCH, the global talking stick is multidisciplinary art project created by the Swiss artist duo Com&Com. At the heart of this unique multidisciplinary, interactive project is a large tree trunk connected to an ancient, annual carnival tradition from the Swiss region of Appenzell.
When the last spruce tree is felled in the winter, the trunk -- known as the Bloch -- is pulled by twenty men from the village of Urnäsch to Herisau and back. At the end of this one-day procession, the trunk is sold to the highest bidder in the village square of Urnäsch to be processed into shingles or furniture.
In the past, the Bloch has been purchased at the auction by one of the locals to be put to practical use (as material for furniture or shingles, for example.) But in 2011, the buyers were the Swiss artist duo Com&Com. Now the artists plan to give the trunk a new role: instead of simply traveling the relatively short distance between the two villages before ending up as building material, the Bloch will travel the world, stopping on every continent.
So far, Bloch was in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. At the end of this journey, the trunk will return back to its starting point in Urnäsch, Switzerland.
The goal is to develop a new Bloch procession at each station based on local traditions. In the process, the original custom and its meaning will change, enter into a dialogue with foreign cultures and people, mix with new elements, and be reinterpreted. At every stage of the journey, something completely new will emerge. This art event will be accompanied by discussions (talks, symposia) and other cultural and social events (exhibits, festivals, music, theater), as well as individual artworks, short films, and a website.
Bloch is a project by the Swiss artist collective Com&Com, founded by Johannes M. Hedinger and Marcus Gossolt in 1997. www.com-com.ch