Gianni Motti
Pre-emptive Act
‘The threat of terrorism, physical or psychological, has given rise to a collective stress in society. Even the police are affected and this particular stress is referred to as the “Police Paradox”.’
Gianni Motti, July 2007
Working within the varied arenas of sport, finance, media, international politics, parapsychology, and now, an art fair, Gianni Motti sets out to put himself, as he defines it, ‘in the wrong place at the right time’. Previously, he has hijacked a busload of Japanese tourists and taken them to an art opening, organized a national telepathy event in Bogotá urging President Ernesto Samper to resign, and seated himself in the VIP box of the French Open tennis tournament with a bag over his head, in a curious evocation of the images from Abu Ghraib. Without ever sermonizing, Motti’s improbable actions contain lessons about the freedoms we take for granted.
Continuing his examination of institutions of authority and issues of security, both perceived and real, Motti engaged the security presence at the fair, not in a demonstration of force, as one might expect, but in the act of maintaining inner peace though the practice of yoga. In our times of proliferating terrorism and great national and personal insecurity, Motti presents a humanist response to these circumstances with an image of calm.
Gianni Motti (b.1958) is an artist based in Geneva. Recent solo exhibitions include: La Salle de Bains, Lyon (2007); ‘Vidéoclub #5’, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2005) and Centre pour l’Image Contemporaine, Geneva (2003). Recent group exhibitions include: ‘Defamation of Character’, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York (2006); and the Swiss Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale (2005).
