Marion Strunk’s (*1949) preferred medium is thread. Using thread as a means of connection, she wraps sculptures and monuments in public spaces with red wool. These interventions shift perception: what was previously overlooked becomes visible and is quite literally cloaked in a new guise.
For The Zurich Archipelago, the artist intervenes on two historic bronze monuments. At the Waldmann Monument (1937) by Hermann Haller on Münsterbrücke, she wraps the battle axe and the pointed spurs on the boots in red wool – attributes of power and violence that lose their edge through the soft material, stripping Zurich’s controversial military leader and mayor of his martial aura. The equestrian statue depicts Hans Waldmann, who ruled the city in the 15th century and whose reign was marked by abuse of power and corruption. In 1489, Waldmann was beheaded on the orders of the city. The monument was created in the 1930s during the period of “spiritual national defense” and was controversial even at the time of its unveiling. In today’s climate of renewed geopolitical tension, Strunk re-engages with the monument’s history and reinterprets it through her subtle intervention.
With Aphrodite (1921), the artist Einar Utzon-Frank draws on a well-known classical motif: the goddess of love, beauty and sensual desire. The statue in the Arboretum is one of the many nude female figures on display in Zurich’s public space and in European cities more broadly, most of them created by male artists. Strunk covers the intimate parts of both sculptures. The soft wool wraps the bodies, offering protection and shielding them from voyeuristic gazes.
Wool and thread – materials traditionally associated with femininity – stand in contrast to the hardness of bronze. They conceal, clothe and shift meaning. Strunk’s interventions are guided by a notion of care: the warming material suggests protection, comfort and thoughtful attention.
Overview:
The textile interventions are visible throughout the entire festival period – at the Waldmann Monument on the Münsterbrücke and on Aphrodite in the Arboretum.
Location
Hans Waldmann Monument installation: Münsterbrücke (Stadthausquai / Münsterhof, 8001 Zurich)
Aphrodite installation: Arboretum (near General-Guisan-Quai 26, 8002 Zurich)
Visit
June 7 – July 12
Accessible at any time
Fotos Credits: Intervention atHans-Waldmann-Monument, 2026. Foto: Peter Baracchi © Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (Kiör)