A Chandelier Made of Used Shorts and Panties
The one and only Pipilotti Rist is a renowned conceptual and video artist from Switzerland. Her diverse portfolio includes films, videos, frantic installations, web art, performances, sculptures, and an entire line of conceptual projects. Her work was displayed in numerous galleries and museums worldwide.
She stirred up the public’s interest with her somewhat controversial idea for the tender “Contemplating the Void“, which called for an installation to fill in the New York Guggenheim central space. Pipilotti Rist proposed a giant clitoris in a 450:1 ratio to do the job. Although it isn’t rare for her to toy with sexuality or provocation, unlike other conceptual artists she produces colorful work which has the appearance of simplicity and happiness. She has won a number of awards, most notably the 1997 Venice Biennale Award.
One of her recent and quite unique installations is a humorous chandelier called the Massachusetts Chandelier, made from varied underwear of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Pipilotto asked her friends and family to give her boxer shorts and panties, and although she says they’ve been worn, she claims they’ve been washed. She linked men’s and women’s underwear in a wire structure to form a convex cotton shape, a gigantic chandelier lighted within. The installation was displayed as part of her exhibition at the Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York.
