Haig Aivazian: You may own the lanterns, but we have the light

Working across moving image, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance, Haig Aivazian explores the ways in which power relationships can surreptitiously seep into our everyday lives, affecting bodies, objects, landscapes and architecture alike.

For several years, Aivazian has focused on artificial light and the ways in which it reflects questions of power and control in modern life. Originally conceived as a means of police coercion, public lighting – positioned symbolically against darkness and, by extension, crime – has become a central tool in the planning of cities and public infrastructure.

At La Galerie, the artist presents all three episodes of his animated mini-series "You may own the lanterns, but we have the light". Conceived specifically for the art centre’s domestic setting, the exhibition places the films in dialogue with the former villa’s distinctive architecture, transforming its rooms into an immersive journey between light and darkness, with shifting colours and musical transitions.

"You may own the lanterns, but we have the light" is Aivazian’s first solo exhibition at a French institution.