Javier Telléz: Das Narrenschiff auf dem Bodensee

Kunstmuseum Thurgau, Kartause Ittigen, Warth, Switzerland

Foucault was impressed by the carnival hustle and bustle there, which was an impetus to explore masks and the motif of the "ship of fools," which Foucault treated in detail in the book "Madness and Society" (1961). This writing is a landmark in the history of psychiatry because it illustrates how society's view of people with mental abnormalities has been shaped and solidified since the Middle Ages. The moral satire "The Ship of Fools" by Sebastian Brant of Basel plays an important role in Foucault's explanations. First printed in 1494, it was read throughout Europe and presumably inspired Hieronymus Bosch to paint the painting of the same name.

Drawing from these diverse sources, Javier Tellez and a diverse film crew created a contemporary vision of the Ship of Fools motif. Together with people with psychiatric experience, texts about madness and society were formulated. Their touching reflections on being, appearances and the state of the world were set to music by the group under the guidance of musician Johannes Ötzbrugger, who accompanied words and singing with the lute - and the actors on their magical journey across Lake Constance.

The set was also developed in a joint process. Together with art therapist Lenka Roth and renowned mask maker Verena Steiger from Schwyz, masks were created in the Kreuzlingen Open Studio using traditional wax techniques, inspired by photos of the Münsterlingen carnival. Historical costumes were procured from a theater trove, and a replica of a medieval lädine served as the main stage for filming.

History and painting, music and masks became the starting coordinates for a dreamlike journey into the unknown. Much remains open in the poetically narrative film: Does the ship set course for "Narragonia" or does it escape the world in which normality and madness increasingly blur? The boat on the water is not only a symbol for the state of today's world, but at the same time a sound and resonance body for the many egos with which modern man travels and which keep him afloat.