ART
Gakona |
Written 30 January |
Thursday 12 February, 12:00Palais do Tokyo, 75016 [map]
A few houses, a service station, a post office, a couple of diners... and a mysterious scientific research base. Gakona, a small village in the centre of Alaska, is home to the American
HAARP research program (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program). Inspired by the works of the inventor Nikola Tesla, it is believed that researchers there are studying the transmission of electricity in the high strata of the atmosphere. But because of its military funding and the fears associated with electromagnetism, HAARP has also become an inexhaustible source of rumours. From climatic disruption to influence over human behaviour, this forest of antennas has been credited with powers worthy of science fiction. Made up of four solo exhibitions (Micol Assaël, Ceal Floyer, Laurent Grasso and Roman Signer), the GAKONA session lies at the crossroads of fact and rumour, reality and fantasy, science and imagination.
Alexander Chizhevsky, russian scientist from the first half of the 20th century is known for his research into the effects of ionised air on living beings and for his theory of a correlation between solar activity and human activity-notably historical events such as wars or revolutions. In his installation Chizhevsky Lessons, Micol Assaël pays homage to this forward thinking scientist who also spent several years in soviet prisons due to his challenging of the communist belief system. The installation, made up of about 20 copper panels, a transformer, a generator and cable system transforms air particles into anions, thus creating an electrostatic charge in space. Micol Assaël takes the viewer from passivity to confront the intangible. Not only a contemplation but an exacerbation of sensations, an intense experience of one’s own body and his place in space.
Ceal Floyer
Ceal Floyer is minimalist in her approach. She appropriates the ordinary and forces the visitor to notice the simplicity of the forms and medium chosen. Daily objects like a bulb, bucket or drill blend with phenomena such as rippling water or flickering flames.
Laurent Grasso
Laurent Grasso’s work is often linked to physics research. After having created computer generated images of a model of the HAARP for a film produced in 2007, Grasso wished to explore this subject in a new way by recreating the plan of the controversial HAARP(High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in the Palais.
Roman Signer
Since 1973,
Roman Signer produces work combining sculpture, performance, photography and film documentation. Using explosives, helicopters, delivery tricycles, Signer explores the fourth dimension, time. Through “action sculptures” the artist enacts and records such acts as explosions, collisions, and the projection of objects through space.
