"There are three bronze sculptures entangled together on the floor. Each consists of another mathematical knot that has been created by the assemblage of replicas of birds’ necks. Three entangled spaces without heads and without bodies, just what use to keep them together and keep them apart."

– Etienne Chambaud on Necknot

Etienne Chambaud's series of bronze sculptures entitled Necknot consist of life-size casts of the necks of birds formed into mathematical knots. Combining reproductions of necks from different species, among them ducks and geese, the sculptures depict mathematical knots of varying complexity.

Necknot, 2020
Bronze
50 x 32 x 21 cm
Edition of 3

A mathematical knot differs from those commonly used in that the ends are joined together so that it cannot be undone. The simplest mathematical knot then is a loop, while the increasing complexity of individual knots is measured by the smallest number its lines cross.

Beautiful and quietly poignant, the necks of the Necknot hold each other end to end in infinite loops. Their softly shimmering shapes oscillate between abstraction and representation, their undulating lines invoking past impressions of the graceful long necks of wild fowl yet its anatomy here also registering as harmonious geometric composition.

Necknot, 2020
Bronze
26 x 40 x 20 cm
Edition of 3

The anatomical characteristics of the neck and its metaphorical associations hold a particular fascination for the artist. To Chambaud “the neck is the body part that allows the distinction and separation between the torso and the head. But if the neck is a separator, it is also a connector: the place through which air and food pass, where screams, voices and songs are produced, through which interiority expresses itself. This paradoxical form exists almost only because of what it both separates and connects, because of what it holds at its two extremities. By the simple fact that it can be more easily severed than other parts of the body, the neck has enabled the invention and development of dualism—the distinction between body and mind, between physical and mental states—and has thus had a lasting influence on the fate of human thought.”

The title, Necknot, with its “k” doubling to spell “neck” and “knot”, encapsulates the function of the anatomical neck as connection between head and torso, at the same time, it can also be read as a negation—"not neck”—comparable to the mathematical term for the simplest knot: unknot.

Necknot, 2020
Bronze
32 x 26 x 24 cm
Edition of 3

In our exclusive Online Viewing Room, each work in the exhibition is illustrated and described in detail.

Etienne Chambaud
Inexistence
Closing Saturday, August 28, 2021
www.estherschipper.com

This week is the final chance to see Etienne Chambaud, Inexistence at Esther Schipper.

Ahead of your visit, explore Inexistence as the artist takes you through the exhibition in this short film.

ARTLAND
Ecology of Separations. The Multifaceted Artistic Practice of Etienne Chambaud
by Shira Wolfe
Read it here


"Chambaud creates fascinating exhibition experiences in which he implores us to focus on a variety of senses – not only the visual impression of his art, but also scent and sound become important elements in his exhibitions, creating a fully immersive experience. At times, the visitor is even invited to touch. With his exhibition Inexistence, currently on view at Esther Schipper Gallery in Berlin, Chambaud invites the visitor into a mysterious world conjured up by a scent and sound installation, three light installations that form the only light source in the exhibition space, sculptural works and modified historical icon paintings, the absolute highlight of the show."

– Shira Wolfe for ARTLAND, 2021