Swiss sound artist Zimoun (previously) harnesses the power of quick, chaotic movements in his large-scale installations and kinetic sculptures. Each artwork is composed of simple materials like cardboard boxes, wooden dowels, and cotton balls, among other common objects. Zimoun assembles multiples of the same configuration—think teetering sticks and metal washers suspended on a wire—and motorizes one portion, causing them to rattle back and forth.
Because each component is made by hand, they have slight differences that prevent them from synchronizing, despite all the motors being connected to a single current. The frenzied movements contrast the calming, whirring sounds the artworks emit, which mimic raindrops or a repetitive drum. This juxtaposition is just one example of the many comparisons the artist draws: chaos vs. order, mass vs. individual, simplicity vs. complexity, and manufactured vs. organic.
Considering this theme, Zimoun names each piece by listing the materials used to connect the discrete components and the whole. For example, a recent project that forms a square on the floor (shown below) is titled “1944 prepared dc-motors, mdf panels 72 x 72cm, metal discs Ø 8cm, 2020.” “In my work, I do not try to transport specific associations but rather to create atmospheric spaces and states that invite us to observe, think, and reflect on various levels,” he says.
In the compilation video above, Zimoun showcases a variety of the sculptures and installations from his extensive body of work, many of which you can explore individually on Vimeo and follow on Instagram.
A white-concrete gallery that slots into the ruins of a brick house is among the three exhibition spaces that make up the Zhang Yan Cultural Museum in China.
The museum was designed by Shenzhen Horizontal Design to help revive the village of Zhang Yan in Shanghai's suburbs and demonstrate how old, rural architecture in China can be reused.
Zhang Yan Cultural Museum encompasses existing rural buildings
Shenzhen Horizontal Design's design for Zhang Yan Cultural Museum comprises three galleries that are dedicated to the past, present and future of Shanghai.
Two of the galleries are housed within existing structures, including the village's original history museum and the ruins of a dilapidated family home from the late Qing dynasty – the final imperial dynasty in China dating between 1644 to 1912.
The main gallery slots into the ruin of an old house
"Preservation, growth, and expansion is our strategy for the renovation and rehabilitation of Zhang Yan Village," explained Shenzhen Horizontal Design.
"Old buildings embody the history and culture of the ancient village," it said. "They must remain and be improved by means of reinforcement and preservation."
"For the dilapidated buildings whose interior space is no longer available, cleaning up the broken parts effectively retain the functional ones. Growing naturally out of its context, the new can therefore coexist with the old."
The gallery's entrance punctures the ruined walls
The main exhibition space is located in the ruined walls of the old house, which had fallen into a state of disrepair. This space is curated with the theme of "Contemporary".
Shenzhen Horizontal Design preserved what remained of the dwelling, and inserted the minimal white-concrete gallery within its footprint.
This new volume is set back from the ruined walls by 30 centimetres and features openings along its edges to frame the old house's contrasting, mottled surfaces.
It also has a sloped roof that echoes the form of the original building and is punctured by a grid of skylights that bring natural light inside.
Views of the ruins are framed inside the main gallery
The better-preserved building on site, the village's original history museum, houses the second exhibition space that is dedicated to the theme of "Tradition".
Its original walls, ceiling and wooden structure were restored and exposed during the construction process, and lined with anodised aluminium flooring that it intended to "light up and expand the space atmospherically".
An old history museum was restored to make the second gallery
Zhang Yan Cultural Museum's final gallery is a new two-storey structure that is built from white concrete and follows the footprint of a building that once occupied the site.
Its design is intended to be contemporary and futuristic to reflect its contents, which has the theme of "Future", and features anodised aluminium on both the floor and the ceiling.
Outside, this gallery is flanked by a garden and a water-filled courtyard, overlooked by a glass-walled cafe on the ground floor.
A third gallery contains a cafe that overlooks landscaped areas
