BASEL.- Scenes from the Invention of Democracy features the work of Austrian artist Oliver Ressler (b. 1970) who for many years has been operating at the interface of art and activism. The show presents four video works, all of which turn on political, social and environmental issues. Ressler aims to stimulate critical reflection on the status quo while highlighting the options for direct action open to those who seek change.

Engaging with subjects such as democracy, work, migration and the environment, all of which are inextricably interwoven and similarly exposed to the impacts of globalisation and capitalism, Ressler trains his critical gaze on political systems, the influence of economics and how we are treating our planet. By documenting protests and acts of civil disobedience, Ressler encourages us to ponder existing power structures as well as the scope for action open to those wanting to bring about political and social change.

The exhibition presents four video works, each of which serves as a vivid demonstration of Ressler’s artistic practice. The works derive all the more urgency and topicality from the on-going climate crisis and global rise of authoritarianism.

The 8-channel video installation What is Democracy? (2009) is based on interviews with activists and political analysts from eighteen cities all over the world. The question posed by the title turns out to be ambiguous: Are the prevailing forms of representative and direct democracy truly democratic? Are there alternative, more democratic models? And what might their organisational structures look like? The work opens up a wide range of perspectives that even years later have lost none of their relevance. On the contrary, at a time when there is ever more talk of a “crisis of democracy”, Ressler’s installation provides food for thought.

Anubumin (2017) focuses on the Pacific island of Nauru. Created in collaboration with Australian artist Zanny Begg, the film addresses the environmental and economic consequences of decades of phosphate mining on the island as well as the way it is being used now, including as a refugee internment camp run by the Australian government. The film’s combination of interviews with whistleblowers and a poetic narrative style serves to address colonial continuities and systematic human rights violations.

Not Sinking, Swarming (2021) tells of a meeting of various campaign groups belonging to the climate movement in the run-up to a direct action protest in Madrid. The video offers a rare glimpse of what the organisation of such large-scale acts of civil disobedience entails and shows just how complex it can be. The subjects discussed include strategy, training and the wording of demands as well as the importance of legal assistance, dialogue with the police and financial aspects. The participants in the video are anonymised to shield them from prosecution. The work derives its unique visuals from its superimposition of footage of the direct action itself that saw hundreds of activists blocking a highway overpass.

Ressler’s latest work, presented here for the first time, is also about protest. We Are the Forest Enclosed by the Wall (2025) takes as its starting point Porsche’s plans to expand a huge, high-speed test track for luxury automobiles in Apulia. The plan imperilled a centuries-old forest inside the circuit that is actually vital to the ecosystem of this drought-stricken region. The situation is a graphic illustration of how financially powerful corporations that promise economic growth are able to influence political decision-making, even at the cost of inflicting irreparable harm on the environment. The video work allows those local residents and activists who opposed the plan to have their say, addressing the conflict between economic interests, environmental responsibility and democratic participation. The fact that here, too, the interviewees are anonymised can be read as an indication of how even in democratic systems, those who dare protest are increasingly at risk of prosecution. But the film also offers a glimmer of hope in that the opposition to the test track expansion plan paid off: in March 2025, Porsche announced that it had decided not to pursue the project.

Curator: Tabea Panizzi
Assistant: Nils Lange