A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scenes, placed on a plain light-colored floor against a white wall. Artwork by Swiss Artist Severin Hallauer
A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scenes, placed on a plain light-colored floor against a white wall. Artwork by Swiss Artist Severin Hallauer
A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scenes, placed on a plain light-colored floor against a white wall. Artwork by Swiss Artist Severin Hallauer
A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scenes, placed on a plain light-colored floor against a white wall. Artwork by Swiss Artist Severin Hallauer
Detailed black paper cutout scene depicting a mountainous landscape with trees, animals, and buildings, framed by ornate floral patterns. A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scenes, placed on a plain light-colored floor against
Detailed cut-out paper artwork depicting iconic New York City landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge with surrounding trees and cityscape. A suitcase with a black and white swiss paper cut inspired scen
Silhouette of intricate paper cut-out design featuring trees, buildings, and cityscape against a bright background.
Silhouette of multiple dinosaurs, including T-Rex and Stegosaurus, against a backlit background with a cut-out design.
Silhouette of a decorative metal panel with intricate floral and nature motifs, possibly outdoors, backlit to create a high contrast black and white effect.
Silhouette of trees, a house, and a Swiss flag against a bright sky, with visible detailed foliage and branches.
Silhouettes of New York City skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty, and trees against a bright background.

Carry On (Baggage), 2026, divers materials,
58cm x 38cm x 22cm


Carry On (Baggage) was initiated in 2026 within the work phase Transitory Space, which examines migration, displacement, and the conditions of movement in a globalized world.

The work consists of a modified carry-on suitcase, transformed into a sculptural object. Originally designed to contain and protect personal belongings in transit, the suitcase is reconfigured as a vessel of accumulated experience. Its function shifts from utility to signification, holding not objects but the traces of movement, decision, and rupture.

Referencing the narrative logic of Swiss papercutting traditions, the work translates ornamental storytelling into precise, industrial material interventions. Through processes of cutting, structuring, and reassembling, the surface becomes a site of inscription—where personal and cultural histories are embedded into the object itself. The suitcase oscillates between container and image, between exterior protection and interior exposure.

Situated within the logic of transit, Carry On (Baggage) reflects on mobility as both condition and constraint. The object embodies a paradox: it enables movement while simultaneously limiting what can be carried. In this tension, questions of self-determination and reduction emerge—what is chosen, what is left behind, and what remains as residue.

Within Transitory Space, the work extends Hallauer’s investigation into the instability of belonging. Travel no longer operates as a passage toward arrival, but as a continuous state of suspension. The suitcase becomes an archive of this condition—at once intimate and standardized, personal yet regulated—marking the point where identity is compressed into what can be carried across borders.

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