PIERRE BISMUTH

The Kunstmuseum Thun is presenting the first comprehensive solo exhibition by the artist Pierre Bismuth (b. 1963). His work has been on the international scene since the mid-1990s. Today he is regarded as one of France’s most important artists and as one of the most interesting conceptual artists of all. The retrospective, featuring installations, photographic works, videos and numerous new pieces, explores the diverse references within Bismuth’s aesthetically and medially heterogeneous oeuvre.
The exhibition provides an overview of Pierre Bismuth’s work from recent years. This includes his most important and best-known works, such as The Jungle Book Project (2002, DVD, drawings), Origami (2003, paper work), Collages for men (2001–2003, photographic collage), Something less, something more (2003, installation) and Following the right hand of Marlene Dietrich (2004, mural). Alongside these, visitors can discover works that are rarely shown, recently completed pieces, and several works created especially for the exhibition, such as Ibhayibheli, 2005. The installation consists of numerous Bibles, each written in a different language. The focus is on the political and social significance of the book. In doing so, Pierre Bismuth raises questions on topics such as globalised communication, shifts in meaning and linguistic authenticity.

Pierre Bismuth uses his artistic practice to explore the boundaries of reality. Through subtle shifts in meaning and a great deal of humour, he destabilises supposedly familiar codes of perception. In his work, unexpected shifts in meaning create a sense of disorientation, as seen, for example, in the series of unfolded origami. Each sheet is named after its origami form, which, however, does not correspond to the image on the paper. In the series Replaced by the same (2003), the artist substitutes an object with its copy by removing elements from images and replacing them with a section of the same subject from a duplicate.

For the exhibition in Thun, Bismuth developed his latest video work, The all seeing eye (2005), in collaboration with Michel Gondry. The camera rotates on its own axis in the middle of a living room. After each rotation, objects such as the television, sofa or armchair disappear until the room is completely empty: a fascinating mental journey in which the familiar everyday loses its reliability.