Inside Berlin’s Most Instagrammable Installation

Like some kind of latter-day Helio Oiticica, the French artist Jean-Pascal Flavien has constructed a life-sized house, surrounded by sand, within the exhibition space at Esther Schipper gallery in Berlin. But while Oiticica’s work was dependent upon interaction, it’s unclear how immersive Flavien’s installation is really supposed to be: “Made of two near identical structures, posed at an angle and apparently held by a central hinge, the house, entitled Ballardian Four, addresses a notion of doubling, coupling, and splitting… The two parts constitute separate but connected elements: While one section of the house is accessible and may accommodate a living inhabitant, its double is inhabited only by a stone. The landscape thus enters the building and becomes trapped in this museum-like space: like a vitrine, the closed-off structure holds its contents in a state of being looked at.” Even if it’s only to be looked at, though, we’re okay with that: When was the last time blue, neon pink, yellow, and maroon played so nicely together? If you’re in Berlin, it’s your last chance to catch it before the exhibition closes this weekend.

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