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PROJECT TEXT (EXTRACT)
Andreana SCANDERBEG and Alexander SAUER’s new project takes its name from the now disused Chavalon thermal power station located in Vouvry in the Swiss canton of Valais. SCANDERBEG SAUER first arrived to explore the site in 2010. The crude-oil power plant was of a size never seen before and was to remain the first and only thermal power station of its kind in Switzerland. Heated with crude oil from the neighboring refinery, this power station was constructed in such an unusual place so as to avoid emissions lingering in the valley. Visible from some distance, the plant consists of the actual power station building and a 120 metre high chimney. Four reduced-size cooling towers were created to cause minimum impact on the landscape and purpose-built dwellings were erected close by to house some of the plant’s employees.
The large power plant was built at the end of the 50s to meet a sharp rise in demand for electricity. Chavalon generated its first kWh in September 1965. In 1999, with its technology considered old and profitability falling, a decision was taken to pull its plug. When the plant went out of service, plans were drawn up to develop a gas power station on the same site. Due to new environmental laws and submitted objections, however, the plant now remains in its unaltered state.
SCANDERBEG SAUER have photographed these vacant industrial sites and abandoned office buildings. In their images, the viewer is faced with rooms fraught with memories: abandoned floors and production rooms stand as a reminder of just how much has changed since the plant was built. There are no indications of dimension. They have stood in the 45-meter high ovens where 16 tons of heavy fuel was once burned per hour and temperatures pushed 1500° C. Scattered files and tools or dusty machine parts reveal the vulnerability and the finite nature of this once modern technology. With their accomplished, distanced view they have created silent images that act not as a documentation, but capture the inner state of this plant like a portrait. They have managed to get to the organs of this power station in a minimum of images to create iconic references: the combustion chamber, the heart of the power station, reminds one of a cathedral; the control centre looks like the command bridge of a spacecraft; and the work rooms, with their mountains of files, have the feel of quickly abandoned Secret Service offices.
The sensitive portraits of the plant’s former employees and exterior shots of its surroundings are seamlessly integrated into this series. There are many stories and emotions bound up in this plant’s past, and the people portrayed still carry with them the pride of having worked there – regardless of its eco-beast history. All of us – as consumers and producers – are dependent on electricity, and as long as our society is not willing or able to reduce power consumption, it must somehow produce it. Public perception of this issue changed radically during SCANDERBEG SAUER’s work on this project. It marks the end and is perhaps even a sign of the beginning of a new epoch. With great sensitivity, CHAVALON highlights a provisional state or a transition – a theme that in certain respects is inherent in the destiny of our current society.
June 13 – 18, 2011
VOLTA Basel, Switzerland
http://www.voltashow.com
Click here for more information.
August 26 – October 8, 2011
WIDMER+THEODORIDIS contemporary
Weggengasse 3, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland