ART
interview by OLIVIER ZAHM
artwork by PHILIPPE PARRENO
french artist philippe parreno opened his studio full of orchids — his latest experiment — to explain, through the filter of his art, how love connects us to animals, plants, mythological creatures, and stars like marilyn monroe.
penguins
OLIVIER ZAHM — When a planetary system is out of kilter, what remains for us? What can we count on? Can we count on love? You use metaphors and fiction to talk about it.
PHILIPPE PARRENO — Yes, I often use metaphors. In 2007, I gave a talk to a colony of penguins in southern Argentina! It was very funny and very frightening.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Penguin couples are very faithful, aren’t they?
PHILIPPE PARRENO — They’re monogamous. In our collective imagination, thanks to cartoons, penguins are very cute but awkward creatures. There’s this idea of a group of indistinct beings dressed…