Zurich quickly embraced techno, and when the music reached its peak in the 1990s, the city became the leading venue for the genre in Europe. Techno parties began as one-off events in basements and warehouses before evolving into an established club scene with regular event schedules.
The Swiss city's techno scene was defined by the 1992 Street Parade, billed as a "demonstration of freedom of love, generosity and tolerance." Starting with fewer than 1,000 visitors, they have grown steadily and attract a million visitors each year, more than three times the city's population.
In the mid-1990s, photographer Jules Spinatz took images of individuals and small groups at parades, often on the fringes of fast-moving crowds.
Spinat says: “The people in the picture had to find their individuality by blending into the crowd. Because many black people are just as gray as the masses, even from a distance. It interrupts the isolated time, interrupts part of the flow of movement and creates air and distance from the movement.
The current installation, a multi-channel presentation of the photographer's work, is intended to be a parade of images and people.
“The pictures come from a time when a lot has changed, and not just in Zurich. The Cold War ended, boring Zurich became a fun city: more colorful, louder, more international, more populous. A street parade was one thing. his expression had a political dimension.
“[The parades] called for peace and tolerance and, unlike today, promoted it with fun, hedonism and lightness and in a non-ideological way. But how many protests and celebrations; How much activity or running?
“I had a strong feeling that I was part of something new. But at the same time, I was no longer interested in photographing demonstrations, neither in depicting the crowd as a dance ornament, nor in depicting the power of a political movement. It was the people who accompanied the event and embodied these ideas with their presence and style.
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“I often take photos when a person sees the camera but their facial expression has not yet responded, so I get an unexpected look that is sure to surprise me and the people I am photographing.”
“Today, almost 30 years later, it seems as if people are looking at us, the exhibition visitors, with questioning eyes at what we know and what we don't know, images from the past to the future. At the same time. We look at their faces in this moment as if we could connect to answer their questions. In doing so, we connect with our past. Let's get back in touch with your ex.
“The first year I took pictures, it seemed like everyone was dancing on or next to the love machines. From 1996 to 1997, when attendance increased from 150,000 to 475,000, I noticed a noticeable change. The street parade became a spectacle as spectators watched the love cars pass by, dividing participants into spectators and activists.
“This transition from politics to entertainment may have been a prerequisite for Zurich’s street parade and techno culture becoming part of UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.” And in 2017, the Federal Office of Culture added it to Switzerland’s list of living traditions.
“One might ask which Swiss tradition he is referring to: the neutral spectator or the participating activist?
