Domesticated

Fitness facilities for all ages have become familiar sites in many urban public spaces and in the home. Lines between public and private spheres, between work environment, living room and home office have become blurred. In Domesticated, Christoph Zellweger presents an original body of work that reflects on omnipresent social engagement in practices of self-improvement and control. Through furniture-scale objects specifically designed to encourage interaction, Zellweger scrutinises inherent everyday experiences that individuals perform in order to deal with acceptance, fears and desires. These practices discipline our bodies and domesticate our existence. In these acts of identification we find fusion between people and their material belongings, objects as extensions of the self. Domesticated sees Zellweger reflecting on the high expectations, desires and obligations that such practices and objects evoke. The imposed duty of life-long commitment to self-improvement and design, typical of material-driven societies is here put under scrutiny, with both humoristic and critical undertones. The artist confronts the viewer, highlights our complacency in conforming to these social norms and invites us to rethink.