Philippe Parreno

Within his creative practice, French artist Philippe Parreno questions the boundaries between reality and fiction, exploring the nebulous realm in which the real and the imagined blur and combine. Central to his works is his quest for an ultimate form of communication capable of transcending language.

In 2021, his work With a Rhythmic Instinction to be Able to Travel Beyond Existing Forces of Life was showcased during the ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. Comprised of hundreds of Parreno’s drawings of fireflies, the work is organised by a computer program and is animated following a unique algorithm. The digital artwork is auto-governed and decides when it begins and when it ends; a sequence can last from a few minutes to a whole day.

UAP’s Shanghai Consultancy and Workshop teams worked closely with Parreno and Pilar Corrias to create digital models, develop construction and installation methodologies, and fabricate the artwork which was then programmed by the artist.