avant la nuit dernière

The Palais de Tokyo was appointed as artistic director for Nuit Blanche 2016 by the City of Paris. The institution, headed by Jean de Loisy, requested that the Hermès Corporate Foundation invest the Hôtel Dieu courtyard for the creation of a special programme during the event. The Hermès Corporate Foundation partnered with choreographer and visual artist Christian Rizzo to create a nightlong, in situ performance. Loving nothing better than "depositing forms between oneself and others", Christian Rizzo set the venue’s architecture in motion via a subtle play on notions of appearance and disappearance. Highlighting the perspectives of Hôtel Dieu courtyard, this large-format installation blurs the boundaries of reality, enhancing strange presences in a unique location. The installation is set to become part of the Nuit Blanche’s general narrative, based on Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a 16th century, Italian initiatory story.