Galerie Mario Mazzoli is proud to present the second solo show by Serge Baghdassarians and Boris Baltschun.
The German duo is known for producing installations with various techniques and media. Their basic methodology consists of re-contextualizing professional tools and objects in order to transform them into living artifacts. The intent of their contraptions is sometimes that of glorifying the erroneous, emphasizing phenomena that are usually considered transient or secondary, or at times that of transforming everyday practices and commonplace devices into artistic endeavors. In both cases, however, a higher order of purpose emerges: a reflection on what we consider banal or not worthy of attention, and how that can instead be manipulated into a compelling form. This goes beyond the idea of the objet trouvé, as they do not stop at an alternative presentation of the object itself, but rather focus on its behavior. The question is what is the inherent potential, the capability of the object when in use, rather than in its idle state. For this reason they often realize time-based installations - to give life to objects, and to enable the reuse for a different purpose from that which it was designed for. The minimal and concentrated design of their installations reinforces the idea that one can expect elaborate rearrangements, which focus on the sensorial effect, on how objects actually behave. Baghdassarians and Baltschun achieve this goal with a sense for irony and a dose of playfulness, often by using tools related to their practice as electronic musicians.
