GINA PROENZA

Patron/Partner 

Newspaper, crate, 2026
With texts by Luisa Bottarelli, Amandine Fabregue and Elaine Smith.

In the 15th century, church authorities in the Diocese of Lausanne – which at the time extended as far as Bex – put white grubs on trial. The beetle larvae stood accused of destroying cereal crops by eating their roots, thus causing famine. They were found guilty and sentenced to leave the area within six days or face excommunication.

Drawing on historical records of the trial and working with lawyers, Gina Proenza has created a newspaper containing fictional legal defences, free copies of which are available to visitors throughout the park. The case that the work documents reveals how the relationship between humans and non-human life can, at times, be uneasy. In this particular instance, the white grubs – abundant but largely invisible – were turned into scapegoats. Today, the situation has reversed: worms and insects are now frequently absent from our soils, their populations tightly controlled with pesticides.

With Patron/Partner, Proenza also revisits the agricultural history of Szilassy Park, which occupies land once partly given over to pasture and vineyards. The three fictional legal defences contained in the work thus prompt us to think about our relationship with the natural world around us, right here in Bex.

Gina Proenza (COL, b. 1994*) lives and works in Switzerland.
Patron/Partner was produced in collaboration with Luisa Bottarelli, Amandine Fabregue, and Elaine Smith.
Graphic design: Eurostandard
Printing: Courvoisier-Gassmann SA
English translations: Ana Rita Parreiras Reis
Special thanks go to Julien Camugli, Catherine Chène, Julie Marmet and Nicole Schweizer