The Swiss Alpine Museum takes up current topics and raises issues related to the present day. Large-scale special exhibitions, experimental cabinet exhibitions and accompanying events present mountains and people from ever new perspectives. Culture, art, science and society highlight different aspects of the mountains and the Alps, and facilitate various new approaches.
Mitholz has been dealt a double blow: in 1947 a military ammunition depot exploded in this unassuming village in the Bernese Oberland. Nine people died and numerous houses were destroyed. In 2020 the Swiss Federal Council decided to retrieve the munitions that remained entombed in the mountain. This will necessitate the village residents leaving their homes in ten years’ time – and they will not be able to return for another ten years. In its next major exhibition, the Swiss Alpine Museum will accompany the people of Mitholz as they come to terms with the issues. After their initial shock and sense of helplessness, how can they adjust to the idea of a new (temporary) place to live?
Parallel to the residents’ emotional journey, “Adieu Mitholz” traces the steps involved in evacuating the village and explores themes that are on everyone’s minds, such as how we deal with dangerous waste, our attitude to risk, and our accountability to future generations. Bearing in mind the fragile relationship between urban areas and mountainous regions, one thing we can say for sure is that Mitholz affects us all.
The zipper is jammed, there’s a hole in the trousers, the ends of the rope are frayed: gear can break anywhere, even on the mountain. If something goes wrong with a piece of kit while we’re out and about, we need to get creative about patching it up or repurposing something else in order to continue the expedition or hike.
The collection of the Swiss Alpine Museum is jam-packed with repaired, patched up, darned, and spliced objects – countless objects that show signs of wear. But in the majority of cases we don’t know the story behind them. What happened before Erhard Loretan’s expedition trousers had that large patch sewn onto them? The disposable cloth shoes were cobbled together on the go – but why were they not permitted to leave any tracks in the snow? And what happened that the hemp rope needed splicing?
In the “Lost and Found Memories Office № 3: Repair” we are combing through the collection to look for patched and repaired objects, items that have been used repeatedly and ones that have been well cared for – and for the associated stories about maintenance rituals, creative repairs, mishaps, and emergencies in the mountains. We’re asking the general public for their life hacks and for everything they know about materials, and in return we’ll be providing a lively discussion about sustainability, consumption, and safety in mountaineering.
