pae white at the venice art biennale 09

entrance into pae white’s installation in the arsenale image © designboom

inside the arsenale, pae white has imagined her exhibition space as an enormous birdcage, flattened under its own weight. upon entering the space, you are greeted by a woven lattice of colors above you that feels like it’s coming downwards. large chandeliers of birdseed are hung within. the sound of birds fill the space, but looking around, none can be seen flying overhead. instead escapees slip in and out of the cage, transforming from birds to people, hiding among us. mostly going unnoticed, the escapees can be heard producing the wild bird calls – a kind of surreal and transient experience.

‘seeded and symbolled – extra long’, 2009 terracotta, birdseen, bulbs, steel cable image © designboom

birdseed coated lamp image © designboom

‘seeded and symbolled – extra long’, 2009 terracotta, birdseen, bulbs, steel cable image © designboom

an ornate chandelier of birdseed is illuminated image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

‘unicorno – 1’, 2009 epoxy, bulbs, steel cable image © designboom

‘weaving, unsung’, 2009 image © designboom

one of the escapees, transforming from human to bird, going unrecognized image © designboom

making a bird call image © designboom

pae white was born in pasadena, USA (1963) and currently lives and works in los angeles. through her work she explores the field between art, design, applied arts and architecture. having worked briefly in set design, her sculptures and installations are often site-specific, taking their point of departure from architecture and allowing it to set the tone of a spatial narrative.