Philippe Parreno

The fourth installation in the Museum's New Media series features recent work by Philippe Parreno. In an artist colony set among the rice paddies of Chiang Mai, Thailand, Parreno and the French architect François Roche built a surreal pavilion, which became the setting for The Boy From Mars, 2003. "Like conjoined twins," said Parreno, "the film and the building cannot be separated."

The film opens as the sun rises over on an enigmatic, tent-like building in rural Thailand. A series of glowing forms rising from the structure (itself illuminated from within by dim orange light) may be interpreted as 1950s-style flying saucers. The technological sophistication of the space travel implied by the film's title is undercut by the low-tech metal tubes and sheets of plastic used to construct the building itself. The source of power for the pavilion seems to be provided by a single water buffalo. The film is slow-moving and melancholic. The Boy From Mars may remind viewers of eerie scenes from films such as Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris or François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451. It is largely silent until the end when the sun sets and singer Devendra Banhart intones, "darkness dies and dawn will come, the day is short, the night is long."

Philippe Parreno was born in Oran, Algeria. He currently lives and works in Paris. In addition to François Roche, Parreno has worked on collaborative projects with Rirkrit Tiravanija, Jorge Pardo, Pierre Huyghe, Douglas Gordon, Carsten Höller, and Maurizio Cattelan. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at a range of international venues including Portikus Museum, Frankfurt; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; San Francisco Art Institute; and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Philippe Parreno's The Boy From Mars opens in Gallery 301 on December 1, 2005. The New Media series is curated by Robin Clark, associate curator of contemporary art.

Pressetext

Media Series:
Philippe Parreno: The Boy From Mars
Kurator: Robin Clark