Interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the partnership between the Luma Arles Foundation and the Institute for cancer and immunology (ICI).
As part of the exhibition by the artist Pierre Huyghe “After Uumwelt, 2021” organised by the Luma Arles Foundation, HeLa cancer cells are grown by doctoral students from the Institute for cancer and immunology (ICI) in the CRCM and CIML laboratories and transported to Arles every week.
Over the past 5 years, the artist Pierre Huygue has been developing a project entitled Living Cancer Variator, which posits that cancer is developing in the body of the La Grande Halle building in the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, and that the exhibition ritual varies.
Ola Rindal © Pierre Huyghe
Ola Rindal © Pierre Huyghe
At the heart of this installation are HeLa type cancer cells in small quantities inside the incubator designed by the Artist and built according to his instructions and the incubation needs of the cells.
The divisions of the cancer cells are analysed in real time using a microscope.
Pierre Huygue’s practice focuses on symbiotic realities and the general ecology of the intersection of possible worlds. His work manifests itself by creating the conditions for different entities to coexist, without hierarchical distinction or specific determination. Through this inter-species cooperation, new forms are generated outside the artist’s control, and develop independently on the screens exposed under the control of the HeLa cells’ biological clock.
Pierre Huyghe, born in Paris in 1962, lives and works in New York to make a living from his art.
His internationally acclaimed works are regularly exhibited in prestigious institutions around the world. His art consists of creating immersive environments that explore various forms of life, whether biological or technological. His most notable works include: UUmwelt, at the Serpentine Gallery, London (2018) and The Roof Garden, at the Metropolitan Museum, New York (2015).
He has been awarded prestigious prizes such as the Nasher Sculpture Prize (2017), the Kurt Schwitters Prize (2015), the Roswitha Haftmann Prize (2013), the Hugo Boss Prize of the Guggenheim Museum (2002) as well as the Special Jury Prize of the Venice Biennale (2001) and a DAAD scholarship in Berlin (1999-2000).
Ola Rindal © Pierre Huyghe