Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

One poetic installation from "From here to ear recycle zombiedrones" (2008). Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s solo exhibition, "From here to ear recycle zombiedrones," was on view at Xippas Gallery from April 5 to May 17. A musician, composer, and visual artist, Boursier-Mougenot specializes in accidental sound-music. Since 1990, he has ingeniously crafted his unconventional musical installations, creating possible music from various objects and scenarios, developing layouts that integrate sound and evolution within the environment, architecture, and situation of the exhibition space. He establishes construction based on pre-existing conditions developed by the artist and those works, through direct development and updates via the manifested situation.

Music is a form of listening. Boursier-Mougenot invites the audience to listen leisurely to the sounds of our environment; indeed, everyday sounds are not music, but through the artist’s cultivation of "listening experience," they become a possibility and accidental music. These visible elements are combined into a temporal presentation, much like an overall visual artwork. He frequently uses imperfect systems and unexpected techniques to create extraordinary sounds and feedback videos, skillfully manipulating separated sounds, treating video imagery processing as sound. Since 2006, in works such as "Britforme" and "FlamByframe," he has transformed sound into sculptural-object installations, with future explorations built upon these primary images of feedback and transduction.

In this unique installation solo exhibition, Boursier-Mougenot transforms the gallery space into a poetic large birdcage. Along a sidewalk lined with green grass, electric guitars, music stands, and speakers are displayed. A series of over twenty small birds fly freely among them; when tired, they rest on the highly sensitive strings of the electric guitars, producing distinctive sounds, with each string generating different tones. Through this flying and perching, an extraordinary electronic concert is formed. The audience is immersed in this poetic atmosphere, enjoying the sight and sound of this unique music. Additionally, there are two sound-video installations, "Standardized Set for Two TV Viewers." The imagery comes directly from broadcast television programs, extracting visual content under unusual sound axes to construct an uneasy atmosphere. This is the most dramatic exhibition I have visited in a Paris gallery; under its unique scenes and unimaginable music, it leads the audience to immerse themselves in a poetic realm.