quasi-objects
Flickering Light, 2013 (left and back)
LED light, 1 programmed chip
The light in the vertical lamps 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.
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014 (detail; back)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
AC/DC Platform, 2013 (center)
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.
Marquee (cluster), 2014 (detail; 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
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, back and center)
LED light, 1 programmed chip
The light in the vertical lamps 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.
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014 (detail)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
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
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014
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.
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014 (detail; right)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Marquee (cluster), 2014
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014 (detail)
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014 (detail)
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014 (detail)
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
Marquee (cluster), 2014 (detail)
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
AC/DC Platform, 2013
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
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 (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.
Flickering Labels, 2013 (right)
Electronic paper, 2 parts
Programmed to vary in brightness and to display text that scrolls in changing speeds, Flickering Labels combine information typically found on wall labels with passages from Philippe Parreno’s 1995 book Snow Dancing, a narration of an imaginary event yet to take place, followed by the staging of that event at Le Consortium, Dijon the same year.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Labels, 2013
Electronic paper, 2 parts
Programmed to vary in brightness and to display text that scrolls in changing speeds, Flickering Labels combine information typically found on wall labels with passages from Philippe Parreno’s 1995 book Snow Dancing, a narration of an imaginary event yet to take place, followed by the staging of that event at Le Consortium, Dijon the same year.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Labels, 2013
Electronic paper, 2 parts
Programmed to vary in brightness and to display text that scrolls in changing speeds, Flickering Labels combine information typically found on wall labels with passages from Philippe Parreno’s 1995 book Snow Dancing, a narration of an imaginary event yet to take place, followed by the staging of that event at Le Consortium, Dijon the same year.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
AC/DC Platform, 2013 (detail)
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
AC/DC Platform, 2013 (detail)
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Light, 2013 (left)
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
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Snow Drift, 2014 (detail)
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Light, 2013
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Light, 2013 (left and right)
LED light, 1 programmed chip
The light in the vertical lamps 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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Flickering Light, 2013 (left and right)
LED light, 1 programmed chip
The light in the vertical lamps 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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014 (detail; left)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Flickering Light, 2013 (right)
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.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Detail: My Room is a Fish Bowl
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Detail: Disklavier Piano
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Detail: Happy Ending
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Detail: Snow Dancing (AC/DC Snakes)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Details: Il Tempo del Postino, My Room is a Fish Bowl
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014
Various helium inflatable float balloons in the shape of fish, electrical plugs and adapters, lamp with Arne Jacobsen lampshade, electrical system, electrical wire and plug, magnifying glass, opalescent acrylic glass podium, LED lights, 6 plugs
Detail: Il Tempo del Postino
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Out Of Focus Windows, 2013
Installation, adhesive
An adhesive foil on the window blurs the onlookers’ view of the outside world, but also obscures the view inside from the outside. The conditions of viewing are changed, becoming an integral part of the experience of one’s being in the space.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Out Of Focus Windows, 2013
Installation, adhesive
An adhesive foil on the window blurs the onlookers’ view of the outside world, but also obscures the view inside from the outside. The conditions of viewing are changed, becoming an integral part of the experience of one’s being in the space.
Quasi Objects: My Room is a Fish Bowl, AC/DC Snakes, Happy Ending, Il Tempo del Postino, Opalescent acrylic glass podium, Disklavier Piano, 2014 (detail; back)
Each element refers to an important early exhibition in which one of the quasi-objects was included. Together they can be understood as a network of quasi-objects and as a self-reflective genealogy of the artist’s exhibition practice since the mid 1990s.
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
Original exhibition invitation (recto / verso)
quasi-objects
Esther Schipper is pleased to present quasi-objects, Philippe Parreno’s seventh solo exhibition with the gallery. Philippe Parreno has often placed his works within the philosophical framework of 'quasi-objects'—objects whose existence is inseparable from the relationship to the context in which they are exhibited. Parreno presents a selection of objects that have appeared since 1992, that span his practice and now reappear within a new setting, their relationships with each other, and therefore their existence, markedly altered.
The speculative concept of the 'quasi-object' is one that seeks to radically redefine the relationship between the subject and the object. Originally devised by French philosopher Michel Serres, and then developed by fellow philosopher Bruno Latour, it questions the common belief that the world is neatly divided into two realms—the 'human' sphere comprising the social constructs of language and culture and the 'external' world made up of factual objects.
Throughout his practice, Philippe Parreno has conceived his exhibitions not as a collection of objects but as part of a scripted space, a mise-en-scène, where a series of events unfold. He has redefined the exhibition experience by exploring its possibilities as a coherent 'object' and a medium in its own right rather than as a collection of individual works. For quasi-objects, Parreno has written an algorithm, a mathematical automaton, to synchronize the behaviour of the objects—the works become a network of quasi-objects that appear and disappear, act upon and, in turn, are acted upon.
This quasi-object is not an object, but it is one nevertheless, since it is not a subject, since it is in the world; it is also a quasi-subject, since it marks or designates a subject who, without it, would not be a subject... This quasi-object, when being passed, makes the collective, if it stops, it makes the individual.
Michel Serres, Le parasite, Edition Grasset, 1982
