AC/DC Platform, 2013 (left)

Opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 3 plugs, 2 AC/DC snakes

Assembled from multiple adapters, plugs and nightlights, AC/CD snakes were first created in 1995 at the occasion of Parreno’s exhibition Snow Dancing at Le Consortium in Dijon. The podium is lit from the inside in a predetermined rhythm; the nightlights glow in the intervals when the lights of the podium are dimmed.

Flickering Light, 2013 (left and center)

LED light, 1 programmed chip

The light in the vertical lamp is programmed using a DMX controller to flicker in a predetermined rhythm. At the artist’s 2013 solo exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo 56 of the lamps were programmed to flicker in correspondence to a timecode based on Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka.

Snow Drift, 2014 (detail; back)

Artificial snow, diamond powder, clay

Snow Drift consists of artificial snow mixed with elements of diamond powder and clay to create a snowy landscape. The work refers to Parreno’s 1993 No More Reality.

Marquee (cluster), 2014 (right)

56 neons, 20 transformers, 132 light bulbs, 8 sound transducers, sound amplifiers, microphones, computer, soundcard

This is the first work from Philippe Parreno’s ongoing series of marquees to consist of several, independently programmable elements. It is also the first to wrap around a corner. Guitar pick-ups amplify the electrical currents, creating an audible articulation of the pulsating lights.

Photo © Andrea Rossetti