Pierre Huyghe

Untitled (Human Mask), 2014, Film, color, stereo, sound, 2:66, 19 min.,?Courtesy of the artist, Hauser & Wirth, London and Anna Lena Films, Paris

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Untitled (Human Mask) is set in a city ruined after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. In this ghost town where no trace of humans can be found, a monkey wearing a mask of a human face is the only thing that can be seen. The artist shot this video after viewing a YouTube video of a real monkey waiter delivering wet towels and drinks to guests at a traditional Japanese restaurant. The video gave him a strange feeling between pity and horror. Becoming fascinated by the ambiguous relationship between humans and animals, the artist cast one of these waiter monkeys for his video. Left all alone in a shabby restaurant, and wearing a wig and an expressionless human mask made of a smooth material, the monkey repeats the action of waiting on guests out of habit. By setting up the artificial scenario of a “monkey waiter” left all alone in a city ruined by disaster, the artist compels us to reexamine the ethical issues regarding humans’ presumption of superiority over nature and their exploitation of animals for their own needs.

Pierre Huyghe

b. 1962. Lives and works in Santiago.
Pierre Huyghe was educated at the Ecole Nationale Sup?rieure des Arts D?coratifs. He has had numerous international solo exhibitions at such venues as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 2014; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 2014; the Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2013; the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City, 2012; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof?a, Madrid, 2010; The Art Institute of Chicago, 2010; Tate Modern, London, 2006; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2005; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, 2005; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2003; the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 2001; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2000; and the Mus?e d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1998. He has also participated in major international art shows, including Documenta11, 2002 and dOCUMENTA (13), 2012; Istanbul Biennial, 1999; Carnegie International, Pennsylvania, 1999-2000; Manifesta 2, Luxembourg, 1998; Johannesburg Biennial, 1997; and Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, 1995. He was the recipient of the Kurt Schwitters Preis, 2015; Roswitha Haftmann Preis Award, 2013; Smithsonian American Museum’s Contemporary Artist Award, 2010; Hugo Boss Prize, 2002; and DAAD Artist in Residence grant in Berlin, 1999?2000.