Wiping Out by Karoline Schreiber

Initiated and commissioned by the Art x Science Office, University of Zurich, 2023

The artwork "Wiping Out" (2023) by Swiss artist Karoline Schreiber (*1969) addresses the topic of biodiversity through an artistic lens. The video installation shows the artist herself painting and erasing extinct animal species with a broom and black sand. The work is an artistic reflection on the destructive influence of humans on the biodiversity of our planet. It addresses scientific research that shows that human actions and the resulting environmental damage are leading to mass extinction: around 150 animal species become extinct every day.

As a human being, Karoline Schreiber sees herself as partly responsible for the silent disappearance through her behavior, and against her will. Her video installation underlines the major role played by humans in the extinction of animal species. She succeeds in doing this in an extremely poetic and aesthetic way: her drawings emerge (and disappear) in painterly movement, and are reminiscent of early cave paintings.

Karoline Schreiber is considered one of the most important Swiss Draftswomen of her generation. In addition to drawings, her oeuvre also includes paintings, text and performance. In her works, the artist addresses political and private issues and (as here) human inadequacy. The often serious subjects transcend into the uncomfortable and surreal, thereby encouraging reflection and action.

The artwork was initiated and produced by Katharina Weikl, head of the Art x Science Office at the University of Zurich. The video installation was shown for the first time as part of the exhibition “Mirror of Nature”, which was on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in Shanghai from December 15, 2023 to January 15, 2024. The international exhibition project “Mirror of Nature” is situated at the interface between art and science and brings together around 100 researchers and artists from around the world on the topic of biodiversity.

Text: Laura J. Noll  

Karoline Schreiber is a Swiss artist. In her work, she explores drawing in a wide variety of visual languages and performative arrangements. She grew up in Bern, where she completed her first degree in graphic design. This was followed by longer stays abroad in Krakow and New York. She later settled in Zurich, where she obtained her Master's degree in fine arts at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). 

Her works and performances are exhibited nationally and internationally, and her award-winning work can be found in various institutional collections. Her work also appears regularly in publications, most recently in the artist's book "Karoline Schreiber's Eraser Collection", everyedition, 2023.

Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai (Moca), part of the exhibition Mirror of Nature, 15.12.2023 - 15.01.2024. 

World Biodiversity Forum Davos, 16.-21.06.2024.

India Art Fair, Dehli, 06. - 09.02.2025.