Ozeane fliessen aufwärts

8 May – 14 June 2026
EWZ Unterwerk Selnau
(Selnaustrasse 25, 8001 Zürich)

We are excited to be part of this collaborative exhibition project, serving as a temporary platform for contemporary art at the EWZ Unterwerk Selnau!

volumes archive on display

For the exhibition "Ozeane fliessen aufwärts", volumes presents a selection from its archive of independent publications, launched in 2013 and continuously expanding through donations. What began as a growing library was deliberately framed as an “archive,” establishing a way of working with the material as an active and evolving field rather than a neutral accumulation.

The display brings together three sections from the volumes archive: the Zurich Archive (with interventions by Decolonize Zurich), On Publishing (by volumes), and Maritime Poetics (with TETI group). Together, they form a curated excerpt from a much larger and evolving collection. The selection does not follow a fixed scientific or art-historical system, but emerges through conceptual relations between publications, where books, zines, and printed matter are brought into dialogue through shared questions, motifs, and tensions.

Within this framework, “Ozeane fliessen aufwärts” suggests a reversal of dominant ideas of circulation and history, opening readings based on return and reappearance. The archive remains open-ended and continues to grow. We warmly welcome new additions - if you would like to contribute a publication, you can leave it in the donation box in this room.

Please join us for our. workshops: 

“Water Fragments” - Collage and Leporello Workshop hosted by MATERIAL and volumes

Date: 14 May 2026, 5 - 8pm

“Water Fragments” is an open workshop by volumes exploring water and rivers as defining elements. Drawing on personal connections, found materials, and fragmentary memories, participants will create leporello zines that bring individual and collective perspectives to light. 
Participants are invited to bring their own materials or collect, cut, and recombine materials on-site.

«Zürich Fragments» Zine- and Collage-Workshop 

Date: 22 May 2026, 5 - 8pm

Open workshop focusing on Zurich. Drawing on the Zurich Archive, participants will create their own zines using personal connections, found materials, and fragmented memories.
Please bring your own materials: photographs related to Zurich, images, texts, notes, newspaper clippings, magazines, flyers, maps, and everyday items such as tickets or receipts. We will be creating collages, drawing, and writing.
 

No prior experience necessary