FRIBOURG.- For her first solo institutional exhibition, Laurie Vannaz (*1987), a young Fribourg artist and recent graduate of HEAD in Geneva, presents a large-scale immersive video installation.

Laurie Vannaz appropriates real-life stories which are so out of the ordinary and improbable that they could come from the realms of fiction. Based on aspects and details of the story that she has collected beforehand, Vannaz studies the protagonists and subjects that fascinate her and subsequently reconstructs new narratives that blur the line between fact and fiction.

At Fri Art, she presents The Lost Ship, a large- scale video installation which occupies the entire first-floor exhibition space.

Through a series of images and texts, the installation recounts the story of an ocean liner which was destined for the scrap heap but was ultimately abandoned in the North Atlantic and simply left to rot. The story of this shipwreck not only re- kindled many a maritime legend and myth - from the ghost ship to the Bermuda Triangle - but also gave rise to new tales as well as arousing the indigation of environmental activisits.

The stark, pared-down images in the installation create a range of moods and visuals akin to thriller films and marine documentaries. These sequences, which tap into the collective psyche, allow viewers to develop their own theories about the lost ship.

Born in 1987, Laurie Vannaz lives and works in Fribourg. The Lost Ship is a collaborative work by Laurie Vannaz and Fabrice Rossel.