![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3bfbb506f39e7e8ccf38a16ccb35ec2cf8919b5f7af1dc77c2673ded523b7f7a/conf_s141_1.jpg)
the “confetti” piece
2015-2018, double channel video projection, 3D animation, silent, color, 18 min. 25 sec.The confetti piece captures a singular moment extracted from what appears to be a local election in the United States. Thousands of confetti descend from the sky, as guests start applauding. Set against the backdrop of a neo-classical building, the falling confetti draws all eyes upwards. The particles, descending delicately like transparent flower petals, appear as an index of lightness.
Through this material, Claerbout, in a quest for remnants of tactility within the digital realm, unites seemingly irreconcilable aspects in the physical world: weightlessness and heaviness. At the heart of the work lies a detail within the scene: the panic reflex of a young boy. Like a gravitational force, his muted scream counteracts the upward movement and pulls the objects in the picture back down.
Both the qualities of lightness and weight co-exist in their enduring opposition, producing a new, third dimension that truly reveals itself over time (as minutes unfold). For Claerbout digital materiality won't be confined to virtual reality alone; instead, it aspires to permeate numerous aspects of life, altering both optical and material habits. Consequently, lens-based images are already a part of the past, making way to be replaced by dark optics.
further reading
![Unseen Sound, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2021 (photo Ivan Erofeev) © Garage Museum of Contemporary Art](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a45ef73ead8e35e98e4c90e733cfbfa75b4b19de4d6738b1577c5e0e9b6fc590/confetti-and-algiers-installed-at-Garage-by-Ivan-Erofeev-1-copy.jpg)
![Unseen Sound, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2021 (photo Ivan Erofeev) © Garage Museum of Contemporary Art](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b840a6e834e1f42e907551f370779241eb64cc51414990c25e8deff98e5a6bab/confetti-and-The-Quiet-Shore-installed-at-Garage-by-Ivan-Erofeev-4-copy.jpg)
![Unseen Sound, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2021 (photo Ivan Erofeev) © Garage Museum of Contemporary Art](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/280e29af0b990bb939757a94a81b1ef7d363dc6ba52e64b3370c779fa4605a7b/the-confetti-piece-at-Garage-by-Ivan-Erofeev-5-copy.jpg)
![KAI 11, Düsseldorf, 2020-2021 (photo Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7dcb0f4e2bbbe6d6570c03b54c02fbaf684ecde4e7629200ad245f6aa88e4c8a/KAI-10-Dusseldorf-2020-photo-Achim-Kukulies-Dusseldorf-01.jpg)
![KAI 11, Düsseldorf, 2020-2021 (photo Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c06e442ec4201d931c3d095771e0342dc029e5a670e709abbe364b0a3eca262d/KAI-10-Dusseldorf-2020-photo-Achim-Kukulies-Dusseldorf-02.jpg)
![KAI 11, Düsseldorf, 2020-2021 (photo Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9a5ae9a232e81d17af2efbb67d1ff656240804c68241d2eeed77a095e6e7b1a3/KAI-10-Dusseldorf-2020-photo-Achim-Kukulies-Dusseldorf-03.jpg)
![Kunst Museum Winterthur, 2020 (photo Reto Kaufmann)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/26c50dcb9ac558d9435e5175ed378360d3d456dc906d4ea72f0b1b025b624811/Screen-Shot-2021-07-12-at-12.03.23.png)
![Kunst Museum Winterthur, 2020 (photo Reto Kaufmann)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e4ab865181c1f9471deb72142b4ff6f6fd4a5a65b3a5c0321131a229635baa2a/Screen-Shot-2021-07-12-at-12.04.12.png)
![Kunst Museum Winterthur, 2020](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e223f3f23d9770a735f364d9a3a5875b10a935681081446d046c8f482d26292d/Screen-Shot-2021-07-12-at-12.04.51.png)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d16e464b9fae9277adf51d7c5d41fe52a3435c3442d1ac40305fc38b32a35894/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-02.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/53e377044ab368a6ce4605d01970c5baa07b62292fe987d5f8e8ff859e04af21/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/41324ab2bbfed2c91f14e56d5112fd62fb15426f2509f0bd68e89b2cf285a252/confetti_20180827_shot_33-7.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1870e040a80cf958b2d7ba339fc0a514f90722115117bc9d43d72a8813584996/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-03.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b385b8ca2d1526e0e0260883b73d483a5d03178d6dcd617d7ecb3356d7398245/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-12.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c54e5e0a5993ca226f07148a12ff4b6f1052eadfb6fe65291ff32a82fd8a22e6/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-10.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4141c6f19761942557c0d05b32a1d7ea1927bc4cf80c1b87f50754fbe5a24a79/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-06.jpg)
![Annet Gelink Gallery, 2018 (photo Michel Claus)](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/24b42d0d51b58815cfbde9a86628e8189208125c0b760dd96fe923cc064ff979/the-confetti-piece-installed-at-Annet-Gelink-Amsterdam-2018-photo-Michel-Claus-04.jpg)
![The Confetti Piece (Confession), 2016, washed ink, felt pen, acrylic pen, and pencil on paper, 46 x 61 cm](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d0c9052b66d688dc54ed79fa5ec7faee1ed6a0fe49de6443154e7b33d67f6679/Confetti-drawing-Confession-46x61-A4.jpg)
![The Confetti Piece (Dungeon Eye), 2017, washed ink, felt pen, acrylic pen, and pencil on paper, 46 x 61 cm](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/80db3e88139a72f8cf3b98fed55c2942225e98c5c58815a63a626b54b01ae475/Confetti-drawing-Dungeon-Eye-9-march-2017-46x61-A4.jpg)
![Confetti Ghost Series (The Light in History Painting), 66 x 103 cm](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7a9b8a7d52c8cb5df67524680bf630120e9adb24b0f5c0056340688f73fc289d/Confetti-Ghost-Series-The-Light-in-History-Painting-66-x-103-A2.jpg)
David Claerbout ©2024