Haroon Mirza: Solo Show

For its 2016 Annual Exhibition Program, Pivô presents a solo show by artist Haroon Mirza, an exhibition composed by a site-specific installation powered by “Emerging Paradigm”, an electronic device made by the artist that fits his needs of concentrating in one only machine several channels of light, sound and videos, in sync. The artist will do a 2-month residency in São Paulo to research and capture images and sounds that will fill the “Emerging Paradigm” device that will play up to four videos and eight channels of electric signals in synchronization. The videos will reflect on the Brazilian current political climate, the local culture of music, Entheogens (plants that have psychedelic properties like the ones used in Ayahuasca) and developments in Physics and Cosmologics.

One of the goals of this project is to present the work of Haroon Mirza to the Brazilian audience for the first time, in addition to contribute to the local contemporary art scene by promoting an exhibition of a renown international artist. It will be also the first time he presents his works in Latin America. Pivô’s peculiar architectural properties and the historical relevance of its space converge with the nature of Mirza’s research.
Winner of 2011’s Silver Lion award at the 54th Venice Biennale as a promising young artist, Mirza builds immersive installations with light, sound and objects that take as starting point the exhibition space. His objects transmit sound and use LED lights technology to redesign/reactivate the gallery space, inviting the viewer to live a synesthetic experience of the site.

Haroon Mirza is an artist who approaches digital language as sculptural material: using technology, through light and sound systems, he expands the boundaries of visual arts, opening a new window to the perception of the artwork. By exploring all senses, his work defies the usual passivity of the artwork and also that of the audience – while experiencing it, one realizes about the core question of his work: challenging the categorization of cultural forms.

Haroon Mirza was born in London in 1977 where he lives and works. Recent awards include the Nam June Paik Award 2014, and the Zurich Art Prize 2014. Main exhibitions include the Nam June Paik Centre, Korea; Matadero, Madrid; Ballroom, Marfa, Texas; Museum Tinguely, Basel; Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; site specific exhibition ’The Light Hours’ at Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, Paris; ’The System’ at IMMA, Dublin, and Le Grand Palais, St Nazaire F; The Hepworth, Wakefield, UK (2013), MIMA, Middlesbrough, UK (2013), The New Museum, New York (2012), Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland (2012), University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor (2012), Camden Arts Centre, London (2011) and A-Foundation, Liverpool, UK (2009). His work was included in the 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale, China (2012) and the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), where he was awarded the Silver Lion.