Fabrice Gygi

In this body of work created in the mid-1990s, Fabrice Gygi explores the mechanisms of power and constraint through simple yet tension-inducing devices. The megaphone, an emblematic object of public discourse and protest movements, plays a recurring role - sometimes activated, sometimes silent, it becomes the paradoxical vector of an amplified but controlled voice.
Fabrice Gygi continues his critical exploration of infrastructures of authority: grids, podiums, loudspeakers, tarpaulins... So many elements from the public space that he reconfigures to reveal their symbolic and political charge. His works, often minimal and modular, question the way in which our bodies and behavior are shaped by seemingly neutral devices, yet profoundly linked to the logics of order and power.

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Always Upright, 1995

Video, 10', monoband, Video VHS, PAL, color, stereo
Collection du Fonds d'art contemporain de la Ville de Genève (FMAC) - Fonds André Iten
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This video shows a performance created for the group exhibition Performance Index at the former Warteck Brewery in Basel. Fabrice Gygi appears attached to a structure that forces him to remain upright - "Always Upright". Two megaphones fixed to his back broadcast France Info, the iconic all-news radio station of the 1990s.

[...] The performance lasted approximately half an hour. The audience was invited to spread out in an empty room, with the exception of cables stretched on either side. I had placed small flags on them to prevent anyone from getting hurt. I entered. Unless I'm mistaken, I started by removing the flags, as a preliminary safety measure. I then stood up to the cables, unhooked them one by one and ran them through my ears. I had previously connected a radio to them, a bit like connecting speakers to a stereo system. The speaker wires ran from the radio to my lobes, which themselves had metal eyelets to which wires connected to an amplifier were soldered, so I acted as a speaker, while the cable functioned as an antenna.
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Was it able to pick up a radio station?
Yes, I was hooked up to a radio station! The transmission was very clear. But, as I was moving around and the cable was acting as an antenna, there were times when different radio waves would accumulate, creating disturbances. We were constantly switching from a clear message to a garbled one. The sound was quite loud and my movements rather slow. I moved forwards, then backwards, and so on. In the end, I had to go back and forth several times, rather like a prisoner turning around his chain. [...]
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Christophe Cherix, conversation with Fabrice Gygi, from Fabrice Gygi, 2007, Ed. JRP Ringier (excerpt)

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Untitled, 1995

Sound installation, metal, wood, tent canvas, foam, rubber bands, backpack with megaphones
Collection Kunstmuseum Berne (donation Stiftung Kunst Heute, 2003)

This installation, composed of a metal structure covered with a stretched PVC tarpaulin, evokes the temporary architectures found in crisis, surveillance or waiting zones: checkpoints, stands, makeshift shelters... Devoid of any explicit function, it floats between fiction and reality, between apparent neutrality and strong political connotations. A megaphone broadcasts the sound of the street, captured from the artist's hotel room during her stay in Cairo - a gesture both intimate and public, rooted in the social and urban context. Presented at the 1996 Cairo Biennale, the work was awarded second prize, underlining its universal scope and discreet yet powerful political resonance.

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Roadblock, 1997

Installation, barrier, tarpaulin, megaphones, flashing light and construction jacket
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen | Collection of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Office of Culture, Bern

Road Block is an installation consisting of a metal barrier used at public events, to which various objects are attached, including an orange safety vest with reflective stripes, a flashing beacon and three silent megaphones. This work is part of a series of installations by Fabrice Gygi that explore the instruments of social regulation and control of public space.

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Untitled (Sound System), 1997

Installation, metal, tarpaulin, belts, two tires, sound system, cassette
Dimensions: 95 x 110 x 100 cm
Collection du Fonds d'art contemporain de la Ville de Genève (FMAC)

The work is part of Fabrice Gygi's artistic practice in the late 1990s, when he was exploring devices linked to public space, protest and mobility. This cart-mounted "sound system" recalls both the aesthetics of protest material and the technical equipment used in alternative venues and free parties. Here, Gygi turns the objects of urban logistics and surveillance into ambiguous sculptures, oscillating between tools of control and instruments of emancipation. This work can be presented with or without sound.

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Fabrice Gygi

Born in 1965
Based in Geneva

Fabrice Gygi began his career with radical performance before moving on to sculpture, installation, printmaking, and painting. His work highlights the mechanisms of power through objects inspired by public spaces: tents, stands, barriers, and poles, often made of steel, wood, or PVC tarpaulin. These seemingly functional forms reveal a tension between utility and threat, challenging the established order. His work, both political and formally rigorous, explores forms of authority in their everyday banality. He has also explored other formats, creating jewelry, linocuts, and watercolors.

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