In the collection of the Rätische Museum Chur there is a rag doll made by Alpine herdsmen from the Calanca valley, which in the relevant literature is mentioned as the only real existing "Sennentuntschi". The Bündner Kunstmuseum grants this mysterious object a small exhibition and, as part of their "Gastspiel", brings contemporary art works to the rooms of the Rätische Museum.

Again and again man creates more or less incarnate counterparts of himself. What has been frequently taken up in mythology and the world of legends is also a favourite subject in literature and fine art. And just as the theme of the "Sennentuntschi" found its way into the world of theatre and cinema, it also finds its reflection in contemporary art. Hence the two artists from Zürich Klodin Erb and Eliane Rutishauser take their cue from the legend of the "Sennentuntschi" and approache the topic with subversive vigour. A long way from any moral impetus the artists emphasise in their multimedial group of work "Baby" the anarchic side of the story and play a sinister and sensuous game with our wishes and fears. The Bündner Kunstmuseum acquited this multi-part work in 2014 and brings it as "Gastspiel" into direct proximity to the strange "Sennenpuppe" from the Rätisches Museum. Thereby the focus is directed on a single object from the historical museum and at the same time a new acquisition of the Kunstmuseum is introduced and presented. That a male fantasy thus comes face to face with a female perspective is not accidental but intentional. As a result the legendary reality of the innocent sinister "Sennentuntschi" can at least be experienced in all its complexity.
Opening: Thursday, October 8, 2015, at 6 pm

Welcome: Andrea Kauer, Director Rätisches Museum
Introduction: Silvia Conzett, Project Manager Rätisches Museum, Stephan Kunz, Director Bündner Kunstmuseum

Catalogue
Unschuldig unheimlich. Das Sennentuntschi. Mit Werken von Klodin Erb und Eliane Rutishauser, ed. Stephan Kunz and Silvia Conzett