“Your saliva is my wetsuit in the ocean of pain” is the title of the exhibition by famous video artist Pipilotta Rist, currently shown in the Kunsthalle Zurich. Born in Switzerland in 1962, Pipilotta is by now known all over the globe and looks back to outstanding exhibitions in the MoMa New York or in the Times Museum in Guangzhou. The show is not a classic retrospective, but conceived as a total installation, in which unexpected relationships between the various groups are identified.

I am always amazed by this artist for her sensual, exhilarating and fearless style in which she constantly works with conventions and taboos. I first got in touch with her through her debut film “Pepperminta”, in which the protagonist lives in a futuristic Villekulla according to her own rules. The young woman has colors as best friends and strawberries are her pets and she knows fantastic recipes to free people from their useless fears and she wishes that all see the world in her favorite colors.

The most recent work in the exhibition is called “Pixel Forest” (2016). It consist of a total of 3’000 LED light fittings hanging on cable lianas in space and brought together to a form of a magical picture-forest, visitors can wander through. Each of the LED lamps is individually driven by a video signal, so that the light forest is constantly changing. And as there are carpets on the floor, you may lay down and relax while watching colourful video installations. An incredible experience! If you missed this exhibition in Zurich, make sure to get to the “Pinakothek der Moderne” in Munich until end of October 2016 for another spectacular Pipilotti Rist show.