Abendmahl (The Supper)
Art project that brings people together
Imagine a large hall with large pictures framed in dark, heavy wooden frames on the walls. The pictures differ in colour and style, but unite in theme and story. They show 13 people who had come together to break bread and share communion with strangers. Stories of getting to know each other and coming to terms with each other, one story of a communion that brought them together. Switzerland.
Working on an ‘Abendmahl’ outside was part of the original vision for the project, as was the idea of a table for artists. This became a reality on Saturday, 31 May 2025, when thirteen artists and culture enthusiasts from the wider Visp area came together to share a meal on the Kunstplanet grounds.
On Saturday, 11.1.2025 the sixth ‘Abendmahl’ event took place in Einsiedeln.
It was the first event in collaboration with a local association (Kunstverein Chärenhus Eisneideln) and the first at which the artist himself cooked. The event was publicised on the front page of the Einsiedler Anzeiger.
The ‘Abenmhal’ took place in Sarnen on 7 July 2024. Despite intensive advertising in the run-up to the event, only 10 brave souls found a place at the table. However, the event was characterised by a great atmosphere and a friendly atmosphere. Not least thanks to the support of the local Round Table Club.
The event was made possible by the financial support of the Canton of Obwalden and the sponsorship of Kvalito Consulting. Various newspapers in the region reported on the Sarner Abendmahl in a half-page article.
Art performance in an office? Yes, on 16 May 2024 at the HQ of Kvalito Consulting in Basel. Framed by a networking event with around 60 people, the fourth ‘Abendmahl’ event took place in Basel. It was an interesting and very enjoyable event, both internationally and nationally. Thanks to the support of Kvalito Consulting, the event was successfully organised.
The third and first “Abendmahl” for 2024 took place on 10/02/2024 in the village church in Trogen. Participants aged between 16 and 75 shared the food they had brought with them. The event was co-organised by the local community, supported by the parish and financially sponsored by the Berthold Suner Foundation.
13 people meet in a gallery to take part in a ‘Abendmahl’ event. This is what happened on 17 November 2023 at the Kunstsichtbar gallery in Zurich.
The confined space gave this special event an almost familiar atmosphere, which formed a good basis for the entire project.
The event was made possible by crowdfunding and the generous support of the gallery.
After a meeting and two weeks of preparation, the first ‘Abendmahlzeit’ took place on Saturday 23 September 2014 in a private house in Herrleberg ZH. A colourful audience turned up and so the first performance became an event at which the project was presented and the basis for the upcoming project was laid. The event was supported by crowdfunding.
Background and Concept
For the last 10 years, I have been dealing with the topic of “community” and the role of the artist in the community. This was done by working artistically with sub-communities or subcultures, thereby enabling their inclusion in the general discussion. “Subcultures”/social groups I have worked with include Russian and Ukrainian mothers, adults with autism, Syrian refugee children, Swiss women leaders, Belarusian LGBTQ, and people with dementia.
A direct side effect of these art projects was the possibility of an informal shared intellectual experience through art with all participants. This often resulted in a strengthened personal self-awareness, which led to a constructive “we-feeling”. For me personally, this feeling became the main motivation for my art.
The series of projects mentioned was brought to a halt by the corona pandemic. After a break of almost three years, I was able to visualize a new art project in early February 2023:
Inspired by an article that explained that: When a couple sits together with their smartphones on, their brain actually sends a feeling of loneliness, so they are actually lonely even when they are together. I took an old idea and worked on an “intimacy” project, portraying couples and asking them what intimacy means to them.
Inspired by an article that explained that: When a couple sits together with their smartphones on, their brain actually sends a feeling of loneliness, so they are actually lonely even when they are together. I took an old idea and worked on an “intimacy” project, portraying couples and asking them what intimacy
A key question that emerged from the project was whether our children could achieve the same intimacy that we can in the face of digital media and AI deluge. If they could even muster the patience and perseverance that is necessary to make a steadfast relationship possible?
The developments in the field of AI over the past few months and the more profound insight into our general relationship with technology that I have gained through the project have paved the way for the start of a new art project that I feel is of great urgency.
“Abendmahl” is intended to pursue the emergence of a congregation through art. From the creation of small family cells through the small communion process with 13 people, to the common self-awareness of a church with 150 members, which is very diverse but has a clear – if only artistic-cultural – common denominator.
How are communities formed?
(Supper – in a privet setting)
88x176cm mix technique on canvas
was created during the painting session that was organized by supporters of the project on
September 23erd 2023
Here you can read the full concept: Abendmahl (The Supper) Concept in French
The project should address two main questions:
Will we be able to form or sustain a community under the influence of AI and the increasingly advanced “communication tools”?
Whether the project can actually create a community remains to be seen. However, the project was intended to bring people together both on the ground level and on the meta-level, both in the context of the smaller “Last Supper” events and in the context of the final installation.
The basic idea:
By painting different group pictures with 13 people each and putting them together to form an installation, a community with 120-150* members is created with the help of art.
Concept:
In reference to the story of the “Last Supper of Christ” and its artistic traditions through the millennia, 13 people are invited to supper. In an art action somewhere between performance and installation, this «last supper» is captured in all its facets as quickly as possible.
Such “Das Abendmahl”* events are repeated throughout Switzerland, each time with new guests, until a total of around 150 people have been painted (i.e. 10-12 times).**
By means of an installation of the various “Das Abendmahl” pictures and an event where all participants can come together, a new community will ultimately be created and celebrated through art.
