A research exhibition on colonial representation policies in public space.

October - November 2018 Raum*Station, Zurich Curatorial team: → Max Heinrich → Helvetia Leal → Vera Ryser → Sally Schonfeldt Supported by: The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Raum*Station
At the Wiedikon train station in Zurich, two murals still hang today. Originally installed in 1927, they were part of the station's inauguration in the ticket hall and aimed to promote the Jelmoli Department Store. The mural on one side features three well-dressed white women at its centre, engaged in conversation with a white salesman while examining a fabric. Additionally, there is a white child reading a book and another child playing with a wooden train. The mural on the opposite side depicts three People of Colour at its centre, offering colonial goods such as tea, tropical fruits, and a carpet for sale. They represent various regions from which Switzerland sourced colonial goods in the 1920s. In contrast to the first image, these three figures are presented frontally: they directly face the viewers, promoting their goods. The juxtaposition of the two images reveals the construction of the so-called ‘Other’: the white figures are associated with books and trains, symbolising the supposed advancements of Western civilization – wealth, knowledge, technology, and leisure. In contrast, People of Colour are reduced to their clichéd roles as ‘carpet sellers’ or ‘fruit vendors’. They also have less agency: while the white figures are depicted as active participants in society, People of Colour can only wait submissively for their goods to be purchased.

The two murals illustrate how, against the backdrop of a violent imperial world order, a racist distinction was made between an allegedly progressive ‘Us’ and a supposedly exotic ‘Other’. This process is referred to as ‘Othering’, and it has become ingrained in the thinking and actions of Swiss society to this day. The depth of this issue is emphasised by the fact that the murals were meticulously restored in 1997 and placed under heritage protection along with the entire station. What does it mean that these racist depictions of People of Colour still hang in Wiedikon station today, and what message do these stereotypical images convey to daily commuters? Should they be removed as racist (advertising) images from public space, or do these images allow us to remember Switzerland's colonial entanglements? Who defines what constitutes our cultural heritage? And whose cultural heritage remains excluded from this definition?

Records of conversations with passersby about the murals have been made accessible to the public alongside further research material in an exhibition at Raum*Station.