HEILUNG (HEALING), 2021

One-channel video installation, 6:10 min, loop.

Sound: Ina Sophie Karsch, Hamburg
Translated into Rhaeto-Romanic and read by
Flurina Badel, artist and author, Ftan (CH)

In the video HEILUNG, two film recordings run in parallel. A white paper tape with writing can be seen being taken alternately in and out of a bridge in the River Inn (Nairs, Lower Engadine) until it dissolves completely and floats away. It was previously written on with a calligraphy brush and ink using fragments of text from the book Mineralquellen im Unterengadin (by Karin Mischoll). Only individual words and sentence fragments are legible; they deal with the history and origin of the baths as well as information on the handling of bathing cultures over many centuries. There are 7 mineral springs in the Engadin. Each spring has its own composition, which in turn is said to cure various illnesses.
The sound and the text spoken in Rhaeto-Romanic alternate – Rhaeto-Romanic, a language spoken almost exclusively in Graubünden, which is in danger of dying out.
The film footage, shot with an underwater camera, shows the surroundings of the river, some of which can only be perceived vaguely and blurred. The tracking shot ends in the water, showing the beauty of the minerals, substances and stones of the underwater world.

What remains is the lively flow of water and nostalgic memories of a bygone era of hope for healing.