Description of the art project
The project is to reveal how a small agricultural village, Chippis, was transformed and retransformed with a life cylce of the aluminum manufacturing factory, Alusuisse. The establishment of the Alusuisse introduced an influx not only of the workers from many villages on the mountains but also engineers and managers from Zurich.
Chippis gained its importance and went through significant changes. The original identity of Chippis was not maintained in a process of the industrialization. Different social classes were created, multicultural environments began to emerge, Catholics and Protestants coexisted in peace, and new style buildings and houses were built next to traditional farmers' houses. However, a segregation among different groups can be easily noticed. Over the years, the factory has been sold and resold to foreign companies.
Currently, it is not called Alusuisse any more but Constellium. Its activities are greatly downsized and eventually, the factory might cease to exist.
Furthermore, the industrial heritage of Chippis is at risk: the historical buildings and houses have been demolished one by one only to be replaced by a commoditized mass housing.