Drain / On Hold
Temporäre Installation im Rahmen der Ausstellung Vom Baden Lernen
Uferpromenade in Baden / CH
24. Juli - 18. September 2022

Stahl, Holz, Durchmesser 300 cm, Höhe 130 cm

Baden has a legendary bathing culture, at least as it concerns thermal water. But river bathing, as known from many other Swiss cities, is missing in this town. Yet there have been a number of official river baths in its own history. In 1864, for example, a cold-water bathing establishment was founded on the Limmat promenade below the Reformed Church, but it had to close around 1900 because the city in the immediate vicinity was discharging its foul-smelling wastewater into the river. Since then, hydropower facilities have been built in the river, increasing potential risk to wild swimmers. Nevertheless, in recent years more and more initiatives and people have spoken out in favor of bathing in the Limmat, wishing for entry and exit possibilities, calling for sunbathing lawns and drafting ideas for swimming facilities. The implementation is still pending. Visual artist Susanne Lorenz has already planned and realized a floating swimming pool, the Badeschiff in Berlin’s river Spree, and came to us on the Limmat in 2021 at the invitation of the cultural project Vom Baden lernen to explore Swiss river bathing traditions. She developed floating and movable pools with the pontooners and conceived designs for cold-water bathing with architect Hans-Jörg Sauter and engineer Bertram Zehnder. All has been dismissed so far for security reasons. Susanne›s latest coup is DRAIN/ON HOLD. This is a drained river bathing platform waiting for its use in the Limmat. You are welcome to use the platform on land and at your own risk!

(Text: Mirko Winkel)