The Soap Opera was intended to become an obscure performance of celebrated dadaness. It meant to be cynic comment on all this hand washing and exaggerated hygienic measures taken out to condemn the Covid19 Virus. While preparing for this show, it felt stranger from minute to minute to move long this idea. Soap being traded like gold ain´t funny. Being in this privileged position to make fun about washing hands, while there are people, humans like us, stuck in hell like conditions in Moria - Lesvos. No water, no medical care, no education,no heating no physical distance. We as european citizens do not show the needed solidarity to the people waiting in that hell. Take them out there! Bring them here!Instead of the Soap Opera you just see your idle hands, washing themselves with no water for 60 minutes.#LeaveNoOneBehind
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With the performance "Soap Opera" Christian Zöllner of The Constitute proclaims the genre of Sanitation Art. Within one hour he carves 3000 micro soaps, while singing opera arias in full playback. This work has long been awaited by critics and audiences alike, as his last performances "Zerwässern" from 2002 - as part of the flood of the century in Dresden - and "Entdecken" during the storm Sabrina are already considered milestones in offline catastrophe art. With the work "Soap Opera" Christian Zöllner now works for an online audience for the first time.
Christian Zöllner *1981 is professor for experimental design at Burg Giebichenstein Art University. He worked in design studios in Paris and Vienna before he founded the media art collective VR/Urban in Berlin. He teached at the Rietveld Academy Amsterdam, HUST Wuhan in China at the University of the Arts in Berlin where he hosted projects on experimental product development for more than six years. 2014 and 2017 he was visiting lecturer for Design Fictions at Burg Halle. Beside all that he gives workshops, courses, talks and lectures worldwide on topics such as science fiction, critical design, social design and rapid prototyping. Since 2012 he is running The Constitute together with Sebastian Piatza.The Constitute is an interdisciplinary design and research studio based in Berlin/Dresden and run by Christian Zöllner and Sebastian Piatza. By combining artistic and scientific practices The Constitute creates interactive experiences for the public space.
Founded in early 2012, The Constitute works with a multitude of international partners from education, research, industry and cultural sector and exhibited their works worldwide. Fields of work contain Design Development, New Media Art, Design Research, Interactive Installations, Social Design and Design Fiction. Beside the design studio activities The Constitute runs its own non profit organization to realize social sustainable projects in rural and decentralized areas in Europe. Through the wide range of expertise and the connections to academic, industrial and cultural institutions, The Constitute can create outstanding and highly innovative ideas and solutions. The studio and its related freelancers and partners work as creative key-hub in an transdisciplinary network with international clients from nearly all professional fields.
