Pluie Noire
2006
51 sculpted modules installation representing drills, black marble
Variable dimensions
A forest of drill bits rises up from the floor, reaching a height of up to two metres. Like watchtowers or totem poles, these everyday objects, magnified here by the nobility of black marble, acquire a monumental, even sacred dimension. Adel Abdessemed combines the delicacy of his sculpture with a subtle interplay of perceptions. The title, Pluie noire (Black Rain), induces an upward fall and increases its enigmatic nature.
This work affirms Abdessemed’s ability to deploy powerful, polysemic images in space. Seeming to rise up from the floor, the threatening yet attractive forest aims to arouse feelings as intense as the tips of the drill bits are pointy. Pluie noire is also part of a Pop Art approach consisting in enhancing an everyday object.
It was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the 2009 exhibition "Mapping the Studio" at the Palazzo Grassi.
This work affirms Abdessemed’s ability to deploy powerful, polysemic images in space. Seeming to rise up from the floor, the threatening yet attractive forest aims to arouse feelings as intense as the tips of the drill bits are pointy. Pluie noire is also part of a Pop Art approach consisting in enhancing an everyday object.
It was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the 2009 exhibition "Mapping the Studio" at the Palazzo Grassi.
Exhibitions

© Adel Abdessemed / Adagp, Paris.
Courtesy the Artist
Photo : Marc Domage
Exhibition view, Practice to Zero Tolerance, La Criée, Rennes, June 30 - August 27 2006 (at the back, Schnell, video).

© Adel Abdessemed / Adagp, Paris.
Photo : Marc Domage
Exhibition view, Practice to Zero Tolerance, La Criée, Rennes, June 30 - August 27 2006.

© Adel Abdessemed / Adagp, Paris.
Photo : Marc Domage
Detail.

© Adel Abdessemed / Adagp, Paris.
© Photo JF MOLLIERE
Exhibition view « Le noir et blanc dans la collection Pinault / Black and White in the Pinault Collection », Couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (FR), June 12th – August 29th 2021.