Aurélien Gamboni has been in a maelstrom for several years now as he joins anthropologist Sandrine Teixido to explore Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “A Descent into the Maelstrom”.

With the support of N.A! Fund during dOCUMENTA, Aurélien Gamboni is still gathering stories and testimonies.

This investigation was launched several years ago with anthropologist and writer Sandrine Teixido and stems from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “A Descent into the Maelström”.

From his childhood fascination with comic books, graffiti and linocuts, Swiss artist Aurélien Gamboni now works with drawings, models and installations. One example is his “Into the Maelström”, which raises social, political and environmental questions through drawings, images and a scale model of the imaginary Assembly of Catastrophes (“Assemblée des catastrophes”). Inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe novel, Aurélien Gamboni invites negotiators, architects, the sociologist Norbert Elias, illustrator Fritz Eichenberg and Edgar Allan Poe himself.

This ongoing project includes several collaborations, in particular with author and researcher Sandrine Teixido.