The work of Andrea Heller does not present big gestures or heroic deeds; myths of the past or chivalric novels of today’s world are themes of her drawings, objects and installations. Neither the depression nor the violence of our era is noticeable in her work, the artist much preferring to present small moments in our daily life, our civilization. She finds inspiration in the memories of her childhood in the 70s, in the immediate as well as daily life; however, her creative work is not intended to be understood biographically. With a delicate sense of exoticism for our Western society, Andrea Heller registers the curiosities of drawings and old illustrated books, saves text messages and collects snapshots. Things like the Silva-book Schweizer Volksbräuche, which includes manually glued in pictures, or a publication of the 70s, which gives hippies instructions on how to build their houses and furniture themselves out of simple materials are much more important to the artist than art historical sources. She is amazed by the archaic power of the costumes and masks of our immediate vicinity as well as the construction sketches for dwellings, loungers and stools. Both the Swiss customs and the hippie houses inspire Andrea Heller’s interest in how material, found in a particular situation, can be subject to change. (Fanni Fetzer)
Wurzeln sind die Bäume der Kartoffeln ( "Roots Are the Trees of Potatoes" ) is Andrea Haller’s first publication as an artist.