Founded in 2004, the Genevan collective Hécatombe is both a publishing house and a team of artists, dedicated to drawing and its narrative possibilities. All five members are independent artists who share their interests and experiences within the framework of the collective, collaborating in different combinations and supporting each other. From the very beginning, they have been present at festivals, experimenting at exhibition venues and interacting with the public. In German-speaking Switzerland, the artists are known for their publications in the legendary Zurich comic magazine Strapazin and their presence at the festival Fumetto in Lucerne. The collective is also closely associated with the founding and development of Monstre, a festival for small publishers in Geneva. Their joint experimental mission is to produce their own books while keeping the whole process in their own hands – from the beginning and the content, through to the end and the material. They also collectively develop exhibitions, for which they come together on site and go beyond the comic’s conventional boundaries.

Hécatombe takes the term ‘bande dessinée’ literally: “La bande dessinée, c’est nous ! On est une bande et on va dessiner !”

Hécatombe presents works by all its members, from the past years. Having been given a carte blanche, the collective is to spend four weeks as a ‘collective in residence’, transforming the another room into a bubbling mixture of participatory laboratory, performance and exhibition.

Hécatombe comprises:

Aude Barrio
Antoine Fischer
Yannis La Macchia
Barbara Meuli
Thomas Perrodin

Curator: Anette Gehrig