Rirkirt Tiravanjia: JOUEZ/PLAY

Installation view of Rirkrit Tiravanija, "Skip the bruising of the eskimos to the exquisite words vs. if I give you a penny you can give me a pair of scissors," dated 2017

PHI Foundation, Montreal

November 3, 2023–March 10, 2024

November 3, 2023–March 10, 2024  During the 1990s, Tiravanija began producing artworks that revolved around his own personal history, through the restaging of his everyday experiences. By presenting such alternative perspectives, he turns life itself into a work of art. As part of the exhibition at the PHI Foundation, two such works that exemplify his relational and playful approach are featured. untitled 1996 (rehearsal studio no. 6) (2023), consists of an actual music rehearsal studio based on the one Tiravanija used with friends for band rehearsals. Inside the installation, visitors can listen to recordings from past rehearsal sessions and are also welcome to pick up and play the instruments. The installation also hosts scheduled rehearsal sessions and organized concerts with Montréal bands. untitled 2017 (skip the bruising…) (2017), consists of an immersive bar installation that was part of the set for Tiravanija’s frame-by-frame re-creation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1974 film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. For the duration of the exhibition at the Foundation, this “set” will provide a place for visitors to meet, dwell, and hang out, while the artist’s recreation of the film plays on a television set within the installation. Tiravanija seamlessly operates across the genres of installation, sculpture, and social practice, which are all perfectly conducive to the reinvention of transnational, urban-based identities, and provide a place for all to play.  Learn more at PHI Foundation.