In an ongoing collaboration, the artists Stefanie Knobel and Angela Wittwer follow colonial strands of cotton in Switzerland, India, Iran and Indonesia. Their work A heavy, heavy duty develops speculative perspectives on the history of the cotton trade from the early 19th century to the present and links this historical strand to the ubiquity of synthetic materials and chemical substances. In a fantastic science fiction landscape, threads are drawn between the embodiments of colonial power and exploitation relations and the resistance of the more-than-human: the affects and potentialities of what exceeds human existence. In 2024, the work was included in the Substances, a conglomerate of artistic projects that critically negotiate and update Switzerland's colonial entanglements within the context of an extensive textile history. The projects under the title Substances originate from Stefanie Knobel or from collaborations between Stefanie Knobel and Samrat Banerjee or Angela Wittwer. Substances will be home to further projects in changing constellations in the future. More information on Substances can be found on its Website.