Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.
Franz Erhard Walther, DE
Costume design at Park Hyatt Hotel & Löwenbräukunst
For Manifesta 11, German artist Franz Erhard Walther collaborated with a Zurich textile developer to create a garment out of the dense, robust cotton fabric called Deutschleder. The orange half-vests he designed appeared exotic in everyday life, though they were not eccentrically costume-like. Employees of the Park Hyatt Hotel wore this design on top of their normal uniforms for the duration of the biennale, framing them as part of a sculptural project, while going about their work at the same time.