Sommeil Nerveux (icosahedron light balls)

Berger&Berger, 2013
32 globes of silvery glass, metallic structure, 24 led sources, electric programmer.
Edition of 3+1AP.
Diameter: 75 cm
Team: Theo Vachon
Created with the collaboration of CIAV (Meisenthal)

In 1843, Braid showed that the state he called hypnosis is a particular physiological state that can be obtained using a simple method: staring at a candle flame. This new method definitively disproves the hypothesis of the fluid of Franz‑Anton Mesmer, who uses the term “animal magnetism”, and replaces it with a neurophysiological explanation. an environment that solicits the brain that regulates exchanges, sensations, and perceptions. It is related to a model of cognitive mediation that plays on the permeability between mind and body. If the psychiatric approach through medicine allows the body but particularly the mind to self-regulate, Sommeil Nerveux works through the more mental slant of suggestion, a resurgence of the hypnotic model. Electrically powered with a program that follows a protocol of regular switches on and off, Sommeil Nerveux is made of a cluster of thirty-six silver-plated and varnished glass balls. This piece formalizes a ceiling lamp hung 1.50 m from the ground, housing the sources of light in twenty-four balls so that through a multitude of associations there appear as many regular geometric forms inscribed in the icosahedron formed by this chandelier.