This Land is Your Land – Sandra Knecht often cites the Woody Guthrie song, and does so again in the title of one of the works shown here. Her practice investigates a concept of my land and your land – of home in Guthrie’s sense – that is characterised by inclusiveness and solidarity. It’s an avenue she has pursued with great single-mindedness over recent years, taking the land as her base. As she explores the places we call home, Sandra Knecht also investigates identities: there are many “I”s; there are also communities with living creatures that are human and non-human. The two themes – identity and place – culminate in the theme of eating and drinking that is central to Knecht’s practice: we consume living creatures as food, we digest with the help of living creatures, and living creatures use fermentation to make what we eat and drink palatable, durable and intoxicating, like the liqueur that is part of her award-winning work. Sandra Knecht convinced the jury with her precise set-ups, her use of material and her independence within the current discourse in which she operates.

Swiss Art Awards 2022 Jury