About

• Peter Wächtler's deeply human stories center around a collection of first-person narrations. As viewers, we are confronted with peculiar characters, confined to close environments reminiscent of literary or theatrical huis-clos formats.
• While reminiscent of Western folklore and children's stories, Wächtler's protagonists are portrayed as endearing losers. Unfit or unwilling to adapt to the changing times, they are demoted to the dustbin of history. Lonely and seemingly exhausted, these figures are caught ranting to a discomfited audience as they skip between feelings of self-rightousness, disillusionment, melancholy and frustration.
• Figuration plays a central role in Wächtler's work. Rendered in a variety of media including drawing, watercolours, ceramics, patinated bronze, text and animated video, these works also follow a folkloristic logic that celebrates the artist's craftsmanship. The figures, costumes and props are rendered in meticulous detail. Always a little bit too close, the scenes leave the viewer feeling like he or she may be intruding in the character's fictional safe space.
• The outmoded aesthetic of Peter Wächtler's work seems to be rooted in Western literary tradition. Reminiscent of childhood classics like The Wind in the Willows (1983) or Animal Farm (1954), these characters speak to us with a strangely moral familiarity. Like any good drama, these works have the power to stir up our unease and confusion, leaving us no option but to agree that our repertoire of coping mechanisms is no more sophisticated than that of Wächtler's tragicomic heroes.