I was invited to create a work for the learning hall of the Wettingen Cantonal School as part of an art-in-architecture commission. The focus was on the special character and beauty of the location – and the attempt to think about art and architecture together and bring them into a lively dialogue.

The former cellar vaults of the Cistercian monastery in Wettingen – a place steeped in history – now house the learning hall of the cantonal school. There, in the stone belly of the building, a fresco has been created that enters into a quiet dialogue with the architecture.

The project was preceded by an intensive examination of the history of the monastery: its rooms, its remains, its rhythms. I was particularly drawn to the fragments of old frescoes – silent witnesses of times past, revealing a direct connection to the wall, to history, to craftsmanship. I have long been fascinated by the fresco technique, and here was the place to apply and continue it myself.

The monastery has always had a close connection to the earth: the soil was cultivated, wine, vegetables and medicinal herbs grew – in harmony with nature and necessity. This connection to the earth corresponded not only to the monks’ lifestyle, but also to the spirit that can still be felt within the walls today. I wanted to create an image that reflects this spirit – while at the same time not denying the present.

The learning hall as a place of transition, of growth, of searching. Where young people shape themselves, transform themselves, reinvent themselves. Where forces arise, swirl around, organise themselves. In the midst of this field of tension, there should be a work that does not patronise, but accompanies – offering legibility without demanding a single interpretation.

This is how the ‘Reigen der Alraunen’ (Round Dance of the Mandrakes) came into being – a playful choreography of rooted beings who meet in a dancing circle. Mandrakes: half plant, half human, shrouded since time immemorial in myths, healing powers and fairy tales. In this form, they allow for a variety of associations – with medicine, folk beliefs, art history, Hildegard von Bingen, but also with pop culture, magic and fiction, from ancient healing books to Harry Potter. An open image that asks questions instead of providing answers.

The 5 x 10 metre Secco fresco was created using natural pigments, which we mixed fresh with water glass and water. In several layers, with a keen sense of the wall, light and materiality, we applied paint to the wall – always in dialogue with the stone, the terrazzo floor and the windows to the cloister. The place itself was the counterpart to which the image responded. The work is an attempt to interweave art, architecture and spirituality. It is a gesture of pause in the midst of a place of transition. May it endure – not only physically, but also in that greater sense that we cannot control, but always long for.

Mural in the learning hall of the Cantonal School in Wettingen, realised with the assistance of Stefanie Thioub and Emil Gut.