Plaster, steel cable, brass, 28 cm diameter, 1,200 cm height.
For the exhibition This & There (Ça & là), artist Davide Bertocchi installed Apologie de l’aléatoire (Pendolo) in the monumental staircase designed by Auguste Perret. The sculpture takes the form of the pendulum devised by physicist Foucault to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation. Unlike Foucault’s pendulum, however, Bertocchi’s sphere rests on the floor and therefore remains motionless.
«This metaphysical object evokes the suspension of time within a frozen space where every possibility can exist. It creates an absurd connection between the different spaces of the architecture. The Palais d’Iéna thus becomes an integral part of the work, as though it were the surrounding space that moved instead of the pendulum oscillating. It suggests a movement that is human, architectural, or imaginary.»
(From the exhibition press release.)
Davide Bertocchi occupies the monumental staircase of the Palais d’Iéna as part of the exhibition This & There (Ça & là), held from 11 April to 21 May 2012. The exhibition took place at the Fondation d’entreprise Ricard and beyond, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Pavillon Neuflize OBC, the creative laboratory of the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.
Photo: Nicolas Durand.