Snowmen

Artists: Anna Caiata & Tina Friebel (Basel), Chen Yingying (Interlaken), Caroline Schenk (Bern), Bernadette Huber (Steyr, A).

Curator: Andrea Domesle, Videocity.

Thanks: Kunsthaus Interlaken and Ruth & Arthur Scherbarth Stiftung.

In the past, snowmen looked very different from the way we know them today. Old pictures often show them as a grim, giant figures with a broom in their hands, looking rather frightening. At that time, the snowman represented winter that was hard and difficult for many people. But in the nineteenth century, the view of winter changed. It was no longer seen only as the cold, exhausting season, but a time to experience the joy of leisure. Over 100 years ago, the snowman became friendly and round, just as we know him today – with a smile, a carrot nose and coal for eyes. He appeared in children's books, adorned Christmas trees and New Year's cards. Especially in the Jungfrau region in Switzerland, where more and more tourists were coming, winter was associated with fun and joy. The snowman became a symbol of this time.

But today the snowman faces new problems. How do we see the snowman in a world where snow is becoming increasingly rare? Will the snowman eventually disappear altogether because of climate change, with more and more winter days without snow? Today's snowmen show us how our winter lives are changing – and perhaps the image of the snowman will change again in the future.

The videos are a selection from a short film competition for adults (aged 16 and over) and children (up to their 16th birthday) held by the Kunsthaus Interlaken in 2021.