In this video, artist Not Vital compares two entirely different places whose names sound very similar: The Swiss mountain village of Ardez and Agadez, a city in the center of Niger. Ardez, with the Fundaziun Not Vital is located in the Lower Engadin, as is the artist’s home village of Sent. Snow in winter was therefore one of the formative experiences of his childhood. Agadez, on the other hand, is a desert city. Vital erected several buildings there, including the 'House to Watch the Sunset', for which the English land artist Richard Long created the installation 'Sunset Circle' (2006). Further houses to watch the sunset are to follow. In addition to a building in the Amazon region, Vital is planning one in Tarasp — located between Sent and Ardez.
“In Rumantsch we have many words for snow — in Agadez in Nigeria, the Tuaregs have no word for snow, but many for desert and sand.”
— Not Vital
