Artist's book: a glimpse into the archive of status assessment photos that David Küenzi took for the city of Zurich over a period of several years.
The Debt Enforcement Registry of the city of Zurich 6 issues an certified report commis- sioned by the owner or builder of real estate or property that is to be converted, renovated or torn down, or when construction of a new building is planned. The report includes a status assessment of pre-existing structural damage (cracks, chipping, etc.) that consists of a text summary and photographic documentation. The municipal office is obligated to work with professional freelance photogra- phers. Here, Küenzi's documentation of the various kinds of cracks is presented in a very different context, that of an artistic book. What began as a mere functional document evolved into an independent image of unfathomable beauty. At times the photographs recall abstract paintings; others seem to allude to the rather disturbing obsessive orderliness of the Swiss. In the Edition Patrick Frey, Zustandsaufnahme joins the series of photographic research projects on buildings, architecture and artistic examinations of archives.
Born in 1974, David Küenzi lives and works in Zurich.
