Streaming Now:
Thomas Liu Le Lann, Livia de Goumoëns
- Arts
- Sounds
- Interview
- Experimental
In Entertain at Galerie für Gegenwartskunst Freiburg, Thomas Liu Le Lann confronts powerlessness, failure, and vulnerability through sculpture, video, sound, photography, and light. Drawing from personal and collective histories, he delves into how people navigate childhood, family, work, capitalist systems, and the politics of the body. A pivotal and exciting aspect of this exhibition is his collaboration with Livia de Goumoëns, a sound artist whose experimental and electronic work amplifies the introspective atmosphere of the space. Together, they crafted soundscapes that blend guitar and vocal distortions with excerpts from Steve Reich’s Come Out (1966) and postural instructions by dancer Arttu Palmio. In Come Out, the act of someone needing to “let the bruise blood come out to show them” resonates with Thomas’ Sweet Teeth pharmacie cabinet sculptures, which reveal the pills they contain, referencing illness, particularly HIV.
The video Gym is another work in the exhibition, documenting a day when a group attempts to create a sports video in a gymnasium, but their limited skills lead to friction between physical limitations and technical challenges. Livia’s soundtrack for Gym intricately layers recordings of bells over Charlemagne Palestine’s carillon bells, along with flute recordings by his friend and collaborator Chih-Yueh Yang. The result is an immersive, dark ambient soundscape—sometimes playful—that shapes how the choreography, space, and bodies are perceived. Through this exhibition, he reconnects with an interrupted performative path, shifting from static objects to the body and moving images, finding new ways to activate his works through sound, physicality, and meta-presences.