L’eau la colonne le fer (2023)

SOUND INSTALLATION | ELECTROACOUSTIC     12:40

L’eau la colonne le fer was commissioned by IRCAM-Centre Pompidou as a sonic journey alongside the newly restored Stravinsky Fountain, itself a commission by Centre Pompidou and Pierre Boulez to artists Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely in 1983.

L’eau la colonne le fer was created in collaboration with poet Laura Vazquez and premiered at Festival Manifeste in July 2023 as a sound installation. It remains available for online streaming (as a binaural mix) on the IRCAM Cirsus application.

In 1972, a new monumental sculpture was installed in a public park in West Jerusalem. It was known as “Hamifletset” (the monster). As a kid, I used to climb into the monster’s belly and slide out through one of her tongues. I loved the monster, though as an adult I slowly forgot about her.

When IRCAM invited me to create a work in dialogue with the Stravinsky Fountain, I discovered that my childhood monster had parents and siblings. It was Niki de Saint Phalle’s first outdoor public sculpture, constructed together with Jean Tinguely. The Monster’s real name was The Golem, that mythical creature that is a parable of power: salvation and peril; mother and monster. But also an icon of catharsis and joy - the idiot, the child - a being not yet burdened by the vanities of adulthood. 

I entered the world of Saint Phalle and Tinguely through their Golem. And I entered their collaboration through their own words: “Life confronted with the forces of Destruction”. I invited Poet Laura Vazquez to join me.

FIRST SHOWING

Manifeste Festival, IRCAM, July 1, 2023

PRE-SHOWING

Una Linea Storta Tesa - group exhibition, Villa Medici, Rome, June 10 - August 6, 2023.

ADDITIONAL SHOWINGS

• Guided audio tour, Pompidou Center, June 15 - September 15, 2023

• Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hultén, Centre Pompidou, April 24 - August 19, 2024.