Pierre Huyghe

This is one of the elements of my exhibition in Venice. Entitled Atari Light, it is the memory of the first video game, PONG, made by Atari in 1972. Now it has become an atrium, a meeting point. The game, which was a basic electronic Ping-Pong table, is programmed in the ceiling as are similar pieces already installed in malls or museums. It is a modernist grid that can be animated using the two joysticks that are placed on the floor. The exchange between the two players lights up the public realm and forms a scene. This work has been part of a larger project related to our relationship with free time. It was first shown at the Wiener Secession in 1999. Today, this work can be considered a clue. In Venice, I am trying to build an image—the image of a moment, of a situation. The image is emphasized through different clues, these different formats: a TV advertisement, a cartoon, a prototype for a baroque public light, and this video game.