City SALTS: Dummies
Solo show by Paul Fritz in the Cabane, curated by Benedikt Wyss & Samuel Leuenberger
2 Nov – 28 Feb 2025

View Images

Download press release

City SALTS: Cabane

Opening Saturday, 4 November 2024, 6 PM
Exhibition until 28 February 2025
City SALTS, Hauptstrasse 12, 4127 Birsfelden/Basel

DUMMIES – Paul Fritz
Curated by Benedikt Wyss

Audition Tape I (Paul), 2024, video loop
Audition Tape II (Antoine), 2024, video loop

By blending techniques that range from computer-generated images to traditional hand-drawn animation, stop motion, and even live-action footage, Lausanne-based artist Paul Fritz (1999) explores genres and layers of narration to craft illusory stories, where reality and fiction dance hand in hand. «Dummies» is showing the casting tapes' outtake of two CGI characters auditioning to play the role of the artist and his brother when they were six and four years old. The videos are inspired by original child star casting tapes, such as the one from Henry Thomas auditioning to play Eliott in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
Durch die Kombination von Techniken, die von computer-generierten Bildern bis hin zu traditioneller Handanimation, Stop-Motion und Live-Action-Material reichen, erforscht der in Lausanne ansässige Künstler Paul Fritz (1999) Genres und Erzählschichten, um illusorische Geschichten zu schaffen, in denen Realität und Fiktion Hand in Hand gehen. «Dummies» zeigt die Outtakes von Casting-Bändern zweier CGI-Charaktere, die sich um die Rollen des Künstlers und seines Bruders im Alter von sechs und vier Jahren bewerben. Die Videos sind inspiriert von Original-Casting-Bändern, wie dem von Henry Thomas, der sich für die Rolle des Eliott in E.T. – Der Außerirdische bewarb.

Paul Fritz (b. 1999) lives and works in the Lausanne region. He is currently a student in the Master of Visual Arts program at ECAL. Coming from a background in animation, he maintains both an artistic and a filmmaker's practice, with a fluid boundary between the two. His work is primarily video-based, often incorporating elements of sculpture, installation, and/or performance. His work was featured in group shows at For Space in Basel in collaboration with Virginie Sistek (2024), POP GUN in New York (2024), Basecamp in Locarno (2023), and HEK in Basel (2023). His films were shown at the LUFF in Lausanne (2024) as well as UFM in Lucerne (2023 & 2024).



The exhibition Dummies is made possible through the generous support of the Abteilung Kulturförderung Kanton Baselland and the ART-EN-JEU Foundation. The artist would like to thank Shahryar Nashat, Lorenz Wernli, and Adèle Anstett.