Philippe Parreno The Owl in Daylight, 2020

Entirely conceived in high-end Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), The Owl in Daylight, 2020, is a new work in motion by Philippe Parreno. In constant evolution, the work is composed of 64 visual sequences controlled and juxtaposed by an Artificial Intelligence. This moving tableau depicts a landscape bordered by a body of water. If at first glance the image seems static, subtle changes of light, temporality, and atmospheric conditions appear little by little. The visual and sound sequences are determined by the Artificial Intelligence. When transitioning between two sequences, the image of The Owl in Daylight sometimes blinks, flickers, as if the entity controlling it was hesitating. Conceived by internationally renowned composer and sound engineer Nicolas Becker (Gravity, 2013; Arrival, 2016), the soundtrack consists of naturalistic sounds—such as an owl hooting in daylight, which gives the work its title—mixed with sirens and other ambiences as if a parallel temporality were unfolding off-screen.