passage2011 an actionistic, transalpine drama The undertaking is driven by hope: bare handed the artists drag a self-made boat over the Alps. Neo-romantic aspirations and sisyphean exertion characterize the mission, whose apparent aim is to launch the boat into the lagoon in time for the most distinguished art event in the world, the Venice Biennale – to eventually celebrate the victory of art over nature in a triumphal journey up the Canale Grande or to fail dramatically. This route is arduous and demands physically and mentally a great deal even from the experienced mountaineers. The major part of the four to five-week expedition consists in traversing the main divide of the Alps on foot. The work is part of the 54th Venice Biennale 2011. Following the structure of classic drama, which either ends in apotheosis or in catastrophe, the piece focuses on the heroes and their actual but also metaphorical undertaking. The art remains central, which is manifested on the one hand in the self-made boat (in the sense of sculpture), and on the other hand in the act itself. Thereby it is only a metaphor for man's aspiration to reach beyond his limitations, which can only end – sooner or later – in catastrophe or salvation.