Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: Raphael Alu
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, video documentation
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: Raphael Alu
Inside, Novartis Pavillon, Basel, photo credit: iart
EN)
The new exhibition pavillon, which represents Novartis and its pharmaceutical industry, is a connection point between Novartis and the public. Its zero energy media façade opens up new possibilities for visual communication in the urban space. It radiates far into its neighborhood. The later the evening, the more attention the glowing building attracts.
The video work Inside is based on the dual concept of macrocosm and microcosm which presents the idea that there is a corresponding similarity in pattern, nature, or structure between the inside of a human being and the universe.
Before the pandemic most people probably never thought about the invisible world of their microbiology. Nowadays everybody has an image in mind how, at least, one certain virus looks like. It is a fascinating world of incredible diversity, structures, shapes, constellations, growth and destruction. These patterns and structures are the main inspirational sources for the video.
Inside is a a playful, experimental animation series which explores the hidden universe of the micro- and macroworlds that surround us, trying to reveal and connect some of its subtle and usually hidden narratives. The seven episodes of the video deal with different dualities, like cells and planets, atoms and stars, neurons and galaxies, DNA, proteins and the universe.
After each episode appears a short text animation. These inserts structure the episodes and connect them to different topics. One insert reads "I live deep within myself", others list numbers about the measurable facts of the universe or mention all the names of known human viruses. The video ends with the quote from Joni Mitchell "We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon".
The minimal visual language in black and white corresponds to the low resolution of the media facade and dresses the architecture in a pictorial rhythm, sometimes smooth and slow, sometimes nervous and shaky. It shines bright or disappears into the darkness of a starry night.
After all, we all are biological super-hi-tech-machines made of stardust, aren‘t we?
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The Pavillon’s zero-energy media façade was designed and engineered by iart ag (iart.ch) in collaboration with the architects AMDL Circle. It consumes only as much energy as it produces and features more than 10,000 diamond-shaped solar modules with embedded LEDs. Their light not only shines outwards, but also in the direction of the metal shell beneath, resulting in a visually multi-layered membrane.
Commissioned by Novartis, campus.novartis.com
Curated by Sabine Himmelsbach, HEK Basel, hek.ch