Zak Group has collaborated with Frankfurt-based artist Anne Imhof and curator Susanne Pfeffer on the graphic design and art direction of the German Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

In addition to developing a trilingual website that evolves over the duration of the exhibition we have also designed the first monographic publication dedicated to Imhof’s practice and created a bespoke typeface used across printed materials. Our approach was to convey Faust through a photographic narrative of actions and gestures performed by core members of the artist’s team—shot in Venice and Frankfurt by Nadine Fraczkowski.

The website presents content in a split layout. The left-side displays stacks of images that elaborate a single movement while the right-side presents texts related to Imhof’s work for the German Pavilion. Texts are loaded cumulatively, creating a unique log of the visitor’s activity on the website. When the user clicks on a navigation item the text is loaded below. Each ‘request’ is loaded beneath the previous with a timestamp indicating the moment the content was retrieved.

Images are presented as stacks that the user can click through to reveal the image below. Having clicked through one stack a new stack is loaded. After a user becomes inactive for a certain period of time—for example leaving the website open in a browser tab—WhatsApp transcripts from past performances begin to fill the page. When the user returns to the window the accumulation of text stops.

Faust is a five-hour production and a seven-month-long scenario combining performance, painting and sculpture. Imhof was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale.