The Water Paradise

Nicolas Bamert at the Vision Art Festival

By Julia Revitt Photography

September 7^th, 2017

Vision Art Festival

This festival is one of a kind. Think street art meets mountains. Set in Crans Montana, in the canton Valais, high in the Swiss Alps, it gathers together various artists to transform dull and lifeless concrete walls and buildings into works of art. In its 3rd year already, previous festival art adorns tunnels, walkways and ski buildings throughout the village. If you like street art then a trip to Crans Montana should be on your bucket list.

11 artists were invited this year to work on various sites, high in the mountains, in the centre of town, on deserted buildings, busy market places and everything in between. I caught up with Nicolas Bamert and followed his progress...

Nicolas Bamert

AKA - @orginalartiste chose to paint one of the out of town communal buildings hidden away between trees. The water works or 'Station de Traitement des Eaux' was a dull green, functional building, with ugly pipes and metal doors. Nicolas and his assistant worked in the blazing sun and heat to transform the building into something spectacular. He chose a bright colour scheme that hints at the use of the building and named the work 'Water Paradise'. Just take a look below...

In progress

Before & after <- ->

Finished!

Cheeky extras

As if painting a building from top to bottom wasn't enough, Nicolas found time to add a few extras around the premises...

A short interview with Nicolas

[Translated from French]

Q: How many cans of paint did you use?

A: I needed more than 180 cans of 20 different colours to paint the Crans Montana waterworks building. As well as 10 litres of blue paint for the ground (the river and shark basin).

Q: How long did it take to paint the building?

A: I discovered the building on Friday night and started the next morning. From Saturday to Monday I was able to paint alone concentrating on the areas accessible by the aerial work platform, and from Tuesday I had the help of an assistant for 3 days. The project was completed on Saturday. It took 1 week to complete the project. It took me 11 days with my assistant to cover the more than 800m2 of surface with days starting from 9:30 to 20.00

Q: How did you plan the design?

A: The idea and the design are always in close relation with the place in which the project is located. I was first told that the building was for the water and forest service. So the theme was already very clear to me, hence the realization of a new forest hut with rainbow colors and a layout of chaotic boards. The result is also a continuation of my existing work, with the inclusion of the fish which was the theme of my last exhibition in Lausanne.

Q: Did the weather affect you?

A: The weather was absolutely stunning - an incredible chance to have 7 days of great beauty. But the most amazing thing was that it only rained during my absence on Thursday afternoon.

Q: Did you choose which building to paint or did the festival choose for you?

A: The festival knew my facilities. I was offered a passage under the track, but unfortunately we did not get the green light. So they immediately offered me a variant that was this building. Without hesitation I was a taker when they told me that I could paint everything.

Q: What’s the strangest thing you have painted?

A: On this site? This is probably the mushroom because it was on an airing element that is strictly forbidden according to standards of paint coating. But here nature decided to grow this little mushroom on this element.