Artist Talk by Laurent Mulot: “Aganta Kairos and the Six Oceans” with the participation of Zhan Dzhikibaev and Paschale Coyle, astrophysicists.

Date

Schedule

19:30–21:00

Place

Garage Auditorium

DESCRIPTION

Artist Talk by Laurent Mulot:Aganta Kairos and the Six Oceans” with the participation of Zhan Dzhikibaev and Paschale Coyle, astrophysicists.

This lecture will focus on the artistic practice of the artist regarding his collaboration with some of the world’s biggest fundamental physics experiments, in particular with the Neutrino Submarine Telescope experiments.

The artist will present one of his artworks in progress called Aganta Kairos, inspired by two physics experiments in neutrino research, one in the Mediterranean Sea and the other in Lake Baïkal. Two of the scientific leaders of these experiments—Zhan Dzhikibaev, Scientist leader of the Baïkal Lake Neutrino telescope, and Paschal Coyle, French Scientist leader of the European KM3NeT experiment—will talk about their collaborations with the artist.

A quote from the Roman philosopher Seneca, two thousand years ago, was the trigger of this art work: “Later, over the years, times will come when the ocean will open the barriers of the universe and the earth will offer itself in its vastness ; Thétis will reveal new worlds and Thulé will stop being the furthest part of the earth”

Médée, Sénèque in Tragedy.

Neutrinos are called “ghost particles” by scientists. They consider them like a cosmic messenger. Laurent Mulot took this proposal as a statement for creating a physical network between people around the world, on the shore of the six oceans, (including Lake Baïkal, the ocean to be…) and the cosmos.

From 2012 until 2018 the artist established places of celebration of the neutrino passage on the earth, on the shores of the Indian, Pacific, Antarctic, Arctic, Atlantic Oceans, and Lake Baïkal with the people living there. These people “enter” this artwork through a performance, a “ceremony” inaugurating a plaque attesting that they are witnesses of the passage of the invisible particle. In some of these places, Aganta Kairos witnesses were carrying out traditional and ancient beliefs which strangely intersect with science, as in Greenland with the Inuit people, in New Zealand with the Maori people, in Madagascar with Mahafaly, and with shamanism around Lake Baïkal. Science and ancient beliefs don’t proceed in the same way, don’t have the same purpose but both feed the same questioning about our origin and our connection with the cosmos.

The title Aganta Kairos is a phrase created by the artist, mixing an old southern French Mediterranean language and Greek. It means “to fish the metaphysical time”.

The presentation will contextualize Aganta Kairos in the global work of Laurent Mulot and will alternate between talk and pictures/video projections and end with the discussion with the public and the scientists.

The visual artwork Aganta Kairos has been also adapted for the stage, co-directed by Laurent Mulot and Thierry Poquet and has toured in France since 2017. A short video subtitled in English will also be shown during the talk.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

 

Laurent Mulot (b. 1957, Le Havre, France) was educated at Paris University of Pantheon Sorbonne Visual Art department. Since 2001, he has continued his long-term work of art called Middle of Nowhere where Aganta Kairos takes place (mofn.org). His work always begins with a poetical gesture involving some people (often in a remote place) becoming actors of the artwork and continues with exhibitions generally showing installation (photos, sounds, videos, sculptures). Since 2007, he has collaborated with the physicists of the Large Hadron Collider for the Biennale of Contemporary Art of Lyon and continues with some major physics fundamental experiments. His works has been shown in many galleries and art festivals over Australia, China, Brazil, Morocco, Canada, France, and other European countries.  He is based in Lyon, France.

ORGANIZERS

    

HOW TO TAKE PART

Free admission with advance registration

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