Philippe Parreno’s Evolutionary Experiment

Video by BAL Productions for Berliner Festspiele // June 11, 2018

Philippe Parreno is perhaps best known for his evolving artworks. No exhibition ends the way it began, and his current show at Gropius Bau in Berlin is no different. Part of the Berliner Festspiele’s Immersion program, visitors are truly submerged within Parreno’s world: blinds automatically open and close; fish balloons float up and down; Berlin radio stations are audible, then silenced; subtle vibrations create water lily patterns in a pool of water; a bioreactor feeds a yeast colony, the microorganisms of which record the exhibition’s functioning. One can sense that everything is connected, but, as is often the case with Parreno’s work, it is unclear exactly who or what is in control. In the video below, watch as the artist explains the exhibition’s inner functions.