Personal objects especially dear to Urs Burki
Complete equipment of his former private clinic for aesthetic surgery in Geneva (2017)
Through personal contact with Dr Paolo Narcisi, founder and president of the Italian NGO Rainbow for Africa, which provides medical assistance and training across the African continent, Rosmarie Burki-Weibel decided soon after her husband’s death to donate the entire equipment of his former private clinic to the organisation. Part of it was integrated into the first project — a mobile clinic — while the remainder was distributed according to need among several African hospitals, including Mapuordit Hospital in South Sudan, Makeni Hospital in Sierra Leone and the Sioport Hospital in Kenya.
Natural skeletons (2018)
As a young medical student, Urs Burki had acquired two natural skeletons for study purposes. Years later, when he engaged in artistic work alongside his medical practice and explored the aesthetic forms of bones, the skeletons once again served as models. They became a source of inspiration for several of his bronze sculptures. In 2018, the two skeletons were given a new home at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University of Turin.
Velo-Solex (2018)
The motorised bicycle that Urs Burki purchased in the 1980s to run errands or attend concerts and opera performances in the parking-scarce city of Geneva has enjoyed a second life since 2018 at Makeni Hospital in Sierra Leone. To this day, staff use this now-historic vehicle for small errands in town.
Mountaineering boots (2017)
An enthusiastic alpinist, Urs Burki wore his mountain boots on 29 December 2015 while painting large-format canvases in the Piedmontese mountains — works that, unbeknownst to him, would be his last.
Each year, many people from African conflict zones attempt to cross from Italy into France, where relatives await them. The route passes over the Colle della Scala (altitude 1,762 m), snow-covered in winter. For these refugees, often poorly equipped and exhausted after long journeys on foot, the crossing is perilous and frequently fatal, with deaths and border rejections recurring year after year. Thanks to the annual voluntary interventions of Rainbow for Africa in Bardonecchia, which provides refugees with warm clothing, footwear and food, as well as some medical aid when needed, Urs Burki’s beloved mountaineering boots found a new, temporary purpose — on the feet of one of these many African refugees.