Case study – Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

The first work I would like to mention is From Here to Ear. In this work, birds spread their wings and land lightly on guitar strings, playing randomly generated music. A curtain separates the different parts of the exhibition, creating a garden where the birds are free to roost. From the moment they pass through the curtain, visitors become guests. They are guided by the gravel floor and follow a set route. He constructs an ecological world that allows people to imagine “A world without humans”. He does not simply want to discuss the existence of non-humans. Rather, he draws humans back into all things to understand the concept of nature and to think about how to co-exist with an artificialized nature.

The second work I would like to mention is Clinamen(2013). Many ceramic bowls of different sizes float in the pool as if they were permanently moving clockwork parts. They move, rotate and collide with each other in the calm water, playing a music.

I really like the setting of both pieces. In the first piece the Performers are birds and in the second the Performer is water. It reminds me of Darsha Hewitt’s work Electrostatic Bell Choir(2012), in which the Performers are old-fashioned television sets. There is also the installation Is Your Time (2017) by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani, in which the Performer is the earth.