Zimoun
Cardboard boxes, metal discs, wooden slats, and felt balls are all objects used in the art of Zimoun (born 1977 in Bern, Switzerland). These materials may appear rather ordinary, but the effect they produce in an exhibition space is spectacular. He arranges hundreds of these objects according to a certain principle (for example, a grid formation), then sets them in motion with individually installed DC motors, letting them generate sounds. The resulting optical and acoustic patterns that are partially determined by chance allow viewers to delve into an enchanting monotony that is both repetitive and multifaceted at the same time.
For his solo exhibition at the Museum Haus Konstruktiv in 2021, Zimoun realized two immersive, sound-producing and room-filling installations that he adapted to the architectural situation of the museum. One of them was called “104 prepared dc-motors, 825 cardboard boxes 35 x 32.5 x 32.5 cm” and consisted of 825 cardboard boxes, as indicated in the title. These were arranged in a room in groups of three, stacked on top of each other in a seemingly casual manner. Some of the boxes were equipped with a motor that had a weight. The imbalance created by the rotation of these “pendulums” set the boxes into jerky motion at different speeds. Because they were stacked, each of the constructions seemed to wobble precariously. This resulted in an abundance of repetitive scratching, rubbing, and scraping sounds that transformed the exhibition space into a sound box. An arrangement taken from this work, “5 prepared dc-motors, 27 cardboard boxes 35 x 32.5 x 32.5 cm,” became part of the museum’s collection after the exhibition.
Representatives of kinetic art, including Gianni Colombo and Gerhard von Graevenitz, already began intensely exploring mechanically generated movement and calculated chance in the 1950s. Although Zimoun loosely refers to these historical approaches in his work, his focus is less on motion itself and more on the sounds created by it. His emphasis on a reduced aesthetics also invokes associations with 1960s Minimal Art. In the work in the museum’s collection, which is comprised of (almost) cubic objects, he alludes to this by placing it on the floor, thus reminding beholders of Donald Judd’s “Boxes.” In contrast to Judd’s highly polished and precisely placed cubes, however, Zimoun’s installation is made of everyday objects that refer to the material aesthetics of the Italian Arte Povera movement from the same period.
Eliza Lips
For his solo exhibition at the Museum Haus Konstruktiv in 2021, Zimoun realized two immersive, sound-producing and room-filling installations that he adapted to the architectural situation of the museum. One of them was called “104 prepared dc-motors, 825 cardboard boxes 35 x 32.5 x 32.5 cm” and consisted of 825 cardboard boxes, as indicated in the title. These were arranged in a room in groups of three, stacked on top of each other in a seemingly casual manner. Some of the boxes were equipped with a motor that had a weight. The imbalance created by the rotation of these “pendulums” set the boxes into jerky motion at different speeds. Because they were stacked, each of the constructions seemed to wobble precariously. This resulted in an abundance of repetitive scratching, rubbing, and scraping sounds that transformed the exhibition space into a sound box. An arrangement taken from this work, “5 prepared dc-motors, 27 cardboard boxes 35 x 32.5 x 32.5 cm,” became part of the museum’s collection after the exhibition.
Representatives of kinetic art, including Gianni Colombo and Gerhard von Graevenitz, already began intensely exploring mechanically generated movement and calculated chance in the 1950s. Although Zimoun loosely refers to these historical approaches in his work, his focus is less on motion itself and more on the sounds created by it. His emphasis on a reduced aesthetics also invokes associations with 1960s Minimal Art. In the work in the museum’s collection, which is comprised of (almost) cubic objects, he alludes to this by placing it on the floor, thus reminding beholders of Donald Judd’s “Boxes.” In contrast to Judd’s highly polished and precisely placed cubes, however, Zimoun’s installation is made of everyday objects that refer to the material aesthetics of the Italian Arte Povera movement from the same period.
Eliza Lips
Works by Zimoun
