Home Is a Foreign Place: Sandra Knecht’s Exploration of Identity and Belonging

In a world that often demands easy labels, Sandra Knecht resists them all. Born in 1968, the Swiss artist’s life has been one of continuous transformation — from social worker to DJ, to photographer, and now, a creator whose work weaves together nature, queerness, and community. Her ongoing exhibition, Home Is a Foreign Place, which has recently opened in Basel, invites viewers into a space where these themes converge.

For Knecht, the concept of home is anything but fixed. It is not a singular point of arrival but rather a fluid dialogue — a mutable idea that is formed and reformed over time, revealed in layers that can never be fully known. Home, for Knecht, is not static or preserved in a singular form. It is always shifting, transient, kaleidoscopic.

In her Basel exhibition, Knecht explores these ideas through installations, photographs, and multisensory experiences. Home Is a Foreign Place interrogates how home can be both intimate and ephemeral, mirroring the fluidity of identity itself. Knecht presents home as a “mille-feuille,” a layered space where personal history, communal memory, and the natural world collide. The exhibition’s rooms are deconstructed and reimagined — a fragmented house inhabited by animals, ghosts, and archetypes. It is within these interstitial worlds that Knecht finds her material, offering an ongoing dialogue about what it means to belong, to exist, and to change.

A Portrait of Sandra Knecht: A Conversation on Art, Identity, and Queer Life

The following conversation took place in Knecht’s studio, where her daily routine and artistic practice converge. Between the hum of her animals and the quiet order of her workspace, Knecht shared her thoughts on home, diversity, and art as a form of life.

Q: I wanted to begin by asking about your concept of home. Is it a place, a feeling, or something else entirely?

Sandra Knecht: Zuhause ist Queer-Land. (Home is Queer-Land) For me, as a queer woman, this society often has no space for me — not in life, not in art. It’s been this way since I was born.

Knecht’s perspective on art reflects this sense of exclusion. She deliberately leaves her work open to interpretation, inviting contemplation rather than offering a fixed message. At the heart of her philosophy is the importance of connection, not division. For Knecht, art isn’t about providing a singular answer, but about creating an experience that evolves and stays with the viewer long after they leave.

This ethos is grounded in Knecht’s lived experience as a queer artist in a world that often seeks to define or limit identities. Her work challenges rigid concepts of identity, embracing fluidity and multiplicity as vital and empowering. Through her art, Knecht offers spaces where these complexities are not just acknowledged, but celebrated — embracing the full spectrum of what it means to exist and belong.

Q: What do you hope people take away from your art? Is there a message?

SK: I don’t think about a message. My life is about diversity — people, animals, nature. Perhaps that is my message: to live in connection with all of these things. I aim to create a space for difference, for dialogue, for everything that resists being neatly categorized.

Knecht’s work explores the intersection of nature and humanity. Her projects, which range from photography to immersive installations, invite the viewer into a dialogue about diversity — not just among people but also among species and ecosystems.

Her installations often blur these lines, creating spaces where the viewer is encouraged to step outside of a human-centered perspective. By intertwining the cycles of life, death, and renewal, Knecht highlights the interconnectedness of all living beings and the fragile ecosystems we inhabit.

Her works are not merely visual; they engage the senses, layering sound, scent, and texture to create environments that feel alive. In one room, the faint smell of preserved fruits from her Heimatgläser project lingers, while in another, the hum of bees or the sound of flowing water might evoke a sense of presence and belonging. These multisensory elements underscore her belief that art should be experienced holistically, much like the relationships it seeks to represent.

Q: When did you begin taking photos?

SK: I was 25 or 26. I had a Nikon F2. It wasn’t about making art. My family was poor. I needed money, so I worked. Art came much later — only ten years ago. I was 45.

Q: That’s a major life change. What inspired it?

SK: It was a privilege to finally ask questions I never had time for before. Art gave me that luxury — to reflect, to explore. I think it’s important for artists to find these archetypes, like Jung’s, and create images that speak to them.

Q: What’s your daily routine?

SK: I drink coffee, feed the animals, and take my hens for a walk. Then I work. In the evening, I might have meetings in Basel, Zurich, Paris, or Berlin. It’s a quiet life, but animals demand consistency, like children do.Q: Has there been a project that pushed you the most?

SK: The one I’m working on now (Home Is a Foreign Place) . After this, I’ll take a week to “shock-chill.” With schnapps or Netflix — whatever works.

The Exhibition as Homeplace

At the entrance to Knecht’s exhibition, visitors encounter a wall of glass jars. These “Heimatgläser” (homeland jars) contain preserved fruits and vegetables, a literal attempt to can and hold onto the concept of home. Nearby, fragments of houses — a roof from an old apiary, a wasps’ nest — introduce the space as both dwelling and landscape.

Knecht invites visitors into the cycles of nature and humanity, where death and life coexist. The works evoke more than one life or one artist; they speak to the collective, to the interconnected web of beings. It’s a reminder that home is not singular but shared — a space of diversity, transformation, and utopia.

In Home Is a Foreign Place, Sandra Knecht offers us a glimpse of her journey: a layered, evolving dialogue on what it means to belong in a world that rarely makes room for multiplicity. Through her work, Knecht reveals that the instability of home is not a flaw, but an essential part of its truth.