Assisted Dying Vocabulary Art Workshop. The Scavenger Hunt: Can old windows hold new views? Can old shoes walk new trails? Embracing Uncertainty through the Art of Looking

In case the decision of an assisted death is taken, more unfamiliar vocabulary enters the discussion: key terms such as assisted suicide, euthanasia, mercy killing, autonomy, self-determination and dignity need to be understood in a specific institutional context, as some of these terms are not easily translatable.

This workshop is conceived around the practice of contemporary British artist Lewis Davidson and his conception of art as a process of translation. As a format, the scavenger hunt encourages participants to reassess and discover fresh perspective in their daily environment. Focussing on how individuals respond to collective prompts, we are interested to see the range of interpretations one word can accommodate, how individual sensorial perspectives on familiar sights allow us to think about the practice of collection as a form of language and communication that instead of shying away from uncertainty, enables us to embrace it.  The workshop will address theoretical and practical frameworks of uncertainty as well as attempt to translate some of Assisted Lab’s keywords (assistance, dying) to the local context of a university campus.

Workshop hosted by the University of St. Gallen, co-curated by Lewis Davidson, Anna Elsner, Federico Luisetti and the Competence Center for Art+