Some people read between the lines, Cuno Affolter reads between the pages. Affolter, a hunter-gatherer, comic aficionado, poet and Fumetto co-founder, has spent years exploring the everyday traces of others – from which he creates his own messages.

Receipts, love letters and scraps of packaging can be found in the books that the Olten native finds in brockis and at flea markets. Did they get stuck between the pages on purpose or by accident? What happens when the unusual bookmarks are recombined? “It gets interesting when I find something quite banal in a large art book and the most beautiful art postcard in a kitsch novel.” It is the space between the notepad and the object that lifts the found objects out of their banality; omitted steps and unanswered questions create space for associations.

The 71-year-old does not ignore empty photo albums on his forays. Only the self-adhesive photo corners still remind us of the pictures. Some are transparent, others black, white or gold. For Cuno Affolter, they are one thing above all: beautiful. Taken out of context and placed in a new setting, they unfold a poetry that is hard to resist.

British college student Faith Ellen Anderson from Yeovil (UK) made a short film portrait of Cuno Affolter in March as part of a university project. The subject of her work was to be Switzerland. Her friend Lukas Wälli gave her the idea not to make a clichéd film about mountains and chocolate, but to capture Switzerland through the eyes of an artist. Lukas Wälli approached us, we in turn brought Cuno Affolter into play – the result is an exciting short portrait in which Cuno Affolter talks about his passion for collecting and his artistic practice and takes us on a journey through the current exhibition “decoded”.

Thanks a lot, Faith Ellen and Lukas!