Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's Metaphysical Communication at Galerie Xippas

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot presents a new exhibition at Galerie Xippas in Paris, curated by former director François Quintin, running from September 8 to October 20, 2012. The show shifts from his usual sonic research to a conceptual exploration of information flow and imaginary worlds. The gallery staircase is strewn with river stones, evoking a stream and creating a spiritual transition from street to exhibition. Upstairs, five black parallelepipeds topped with stones resemble faces or Brancusi sculptures but are actually calcined beehives, referencing childhood memories and sound systems. They emit mysterious vibrations like drones or space probes. In the next room, a bakelite telephone on a wax pedestal is connected to the internet, ringing when the word "fantôme" (ghost) appears on Google, producing a muffled, meditative chime. Behind glass, a real beehive with live bees performs a choreography; a directional microphone records wing friction, processed five ways and broadcast into the black hives. The exhibition addresses abstract questions of contemporary communication and its metaphysical dimension, unlike Boursier-Mougenot's earlier work "From Here to Ear" with birds on guitars.