If we were to use the established waterproof rating system on this ornate tent in Zürich, it wouldn’t score too highly. Probably a total fail in all honesty. Happily, the delicate material of this tent won’t be expected to keep any rainforest deluges at bay, or deflect the biting winds at Everest basecamp — it’s staying safely indoors as the temporary accommodation at The Proposal No7. Itinerant art project The Proposal — which sees proposed creations exhibited rather than finished pieces — has returned home to Zürich for its seventh incarnation, and as always offers somewhere for visitors to stay overnight while they mull over the proposals.
Starkly lit in the peeling basement of the project headquarters, the tent is just one of a terrific series of possible works being shown at Dubsstrasse 33a. Upstairs is a whole lot less eerie although no less interesting, as design duo Wuethrichfuerst (Karin Wüthrich and Matthias Fürst) lead visitors through an installation under the title Ceci N’est Pas à la Mode (This Is Not Fashionable). The prototype messes with ideas of space and spatial relationships, as the centrepiece construction — made from architectural cardboard — breaks apart in dramatic style to reveal one of the designers’ garments. Ponder The Proposal No7 in full before 31 July.