Colors of (Colonial) Chemistry
A Self-Guided Tour

By

Denise Bertschi
Early-Career Fellow 2024–2025

Details

The self-guided tour Colors of (Colonial) Chemistry includes six heritage sites in ETH’s main building (HG).

The tour is situated in publicly accessible areas and can be visited during the buildings’ regular opening hours or accessed 24/7 with an ETH card.

Locations:
ETH main building (HG), Rämistrasse 101, 8006 Zurich, Mon–Fri, 6:00–22:00; Sat & Sun, 8:00–17:00.

The project “Colors of (Colonial) Chemistry” by artist and scholar Denise Bertschi sheds light on the entangled histories of dye chemistry and photographic chemistry at the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, from its foundation in 1855 to the turn of the century. Taking the biographies of ETH chemistry professors Pompejus Bolley (1812–1870) and Robert Gnehm (1852–1926) as a starting point, Bertschi explores heritage sites in ETH’s main building, alongside sources from ETH’s university archives, art inventory, and chemistry collections. By bringing together material, architectural, and visual traces, Bertschi weaves a web of connections between chemical substances, scientific knowledge, industrial production, and colonial entanglements.

Overview of tour stops

Drei Grazien-Brunnen (Fountain of the Three Graces)
ETH main building

Mural “Chemische Fabrik vormals Sandoz Basel”
ETH main building

Mural “J. R. Geigy AG. Farbstoff Fabrikation Basel”
ETH main building

Mural “Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie Basel”
ETH main building

Memorial for Robert Gnehm
ETH main building

Memorial for Pompejus Bolley
ETH main building