William Forsythe X Ryoji Ikeda — Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time — Test Pattern — La Villette — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: December 1 → 31, 2017

William Forsythe X Ryoji Ikeda — La Villette La Villette organise jusqu’au 31 décembre une rencontre inédite en invitant deux artistes à partager ses espaces le temps d’une exp... 2 - Bien Critique

In this exhibition, William Forsythe, the iconoclastic choreographer and the multi-disciplinary musician Ryoji Ikeda present their artwork simultaneously. These two mesmerizing installations make for a mentally and physically engaging experience.

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William Forsythe is a choreographer who, not content with having revolutionized “classical” ballet, has always been an exponent of choreography — which, he says, is not to be confused with dance. Ryoji Ikeda, one of the leading figures in electronic music, approaches music in conjunction with its spatial and visual arts-related dimensions. Between William Forsythe, whose work says much about his passion for music, and Ryoji Ikeda, who made his artistic début as part of the groundbreaking Dumb Type collective, their paths were bound to cross.

Test pattern [nº6], audiovisual installation, 2013 © Ryoji Ikeda & photo by Yasuharu Sasaki courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time N°2 consists of hundreds of pendulum hanging in a space, prompting the visitor to rethink the relationship between his or her body and space. It invites the visitor to be the activating force behind the work, him or her becoming its own choreographer.

Test pattern [nº6], audiovisual installation, 2013 © Ryoji Ikeda & photo by Yasuharu Sasaki courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

As for Ryoji Ikeda, he presents a new, monumental variant of his Test Pattern project, in which he translates and materializes the influx of data (sounds, texts, photographs and films) which submerge our everyday lives. A hypnotic succession of black and white motifs, barcodes generated by the real time conversion of sound waves, unfurl before us at a dizzying rate in synch with the music. Spectators are invited on a journey into the confines of their perception, and with it, a meditation on the limits of their condition.