THE RATZERT CONJECTURE

THE RATZERT CONJECTURE

single-channel video, color, silent

2023

Goldbeater's skin is the processed outer membrane of the intestine of an animal, typically cattle. It’s used not only to separate sheets of gold that are hammered into gold leaf, but also to construct the gasbags of Zeppelin. Composed of desires for lightness and inferences without sufficient evidence, the video is about Jacob Ratzert, the first documented gold beater in Schwabach. His name was first mentioned in a complaint in the year 1572, and his life story remains a matter of conjecture.

“The Guide” was performed by Jiangyue Guo.