Grass Grinder Groove, 2023
Rachel Morend drives tractors, makes sounds, works with cows, hijacks machines and is part of a collective with an unpronounceable name. For the Plattform23 exhibition, she is presenting a unique interactive sound installation.
Turn the crank and let yourself be transported to the Swiss pastures! Thanks to the moo boxes attached to the mechanisms of an old plant grinder, a whole herd of cows suddenly invades the sound space and parasitizes the exhibition. The Espace Arlaud grooves to the rhythm of a curious animal bluegrass, and the climb up the monumental staircase assumes the features of a transhumance. The manual activation of this 100% mechanical device leaves room for experimentation and creates a unique acoustic.
In a remarkable ecology of means and through a grinding détournement, Rachel Morend proposes a playful and interactive installation that recycles an agricultural machine into a country-style barrel organ. Behind the childish fascination that the moo boxes can inspire, the artist's proposal can be read as an invitation to revive a certain art of making. I also like to see this as a nod to the situation of young artists, for whom one never really knows how the wheel will turn.
Colin Raynal (translation P23)
Cast iron grinder, steel tubes, moo boxes, metal rods
Photo credits: Margot Sparkes