2016 marked the 100 anniversary of Dada, my favorite art movement.

Petra (a psychologist) and I (a filmmaker) were chosen to show our “joint venture”in Manifesta 11, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art that took place in Zürich from 06 June to 18 September, 2016. The concept developed by Christian Jankowski, Manifesta 11’s curator, was to pair an artist and a worker, while focusing on the fields of work found in Zürich and asking the questions “What do I do for money?” and “What does my work do to me at the same time?”

So we made a film -the ideal medium to combine dreams and storytelling- to celebrate the 100 anniversary of Dada, an artistic movement that was born in Zürich, Switzerland in 1916. The film is titled “Le roi cherche une toilette à louer”: Hand printing, cutting words, mental sounds, and random acts of poetry can lead you to unexpected places where the mundane blends with the sublime. The film is inspired by a poem by Tristan Tzara, one of the main founders of Dada, titled “L’amiral cherche une maison à louer.”

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Enjoy the under 3-minute video.

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Rubén Abruña

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Una mirada poética a uno de los pasatiempos favoritos de Petra.

El hilo roto
puede anudarse
de nuevo, pero
sigue roto.

Quizás nos encontremos
otra vez
pero ahí
donde me dejaste
no me encontrarás
otra vez.

A poetic look at one of Petra’s favorite pastimes.

Text translation:

The torn thread
can be knotted again
back to one, but
it is torn.

Perhaps we encounter
each other again,
but there,
where you left me
you will not
find me again.