Burnand’s practice spans over drawing, film and performance. Her work investigates analogies between different times, places and personas in history. Departing from a protestant family heritage, she turns to other cultural groups in search of their visual legacy. She is especially intrigued by the relationship between emotion and culture and the way it shapes mythologies and rituals.
In the exhibition Saints and Lovers at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Burnand presents works based on her recent research on snake handling in Egypt. The exhibition explores the parallel relationships between the practices of the Rifâ’iyya (one of the main Sufi orders in Egypt, whose name is associated with snake handling) and the secular aspects of everyday life. The work unfolds around the idea of love and contemplation, which is central in the relationship to the divine in islamic mysticism. Rather than developing a linear narrative, the installation offers fragments of an experience through film, sound, fabric and drawings.

Céline Burnand *1987, is a grantee of Pro Helvetia in the International Studio Programme.