Zaven Paré. Mix Maker

Zaven Paré is a "maker." With or without digital tools, he transforms and repurposes what he assembles. Over four decades, he has evolved from new media art to a form of technological archaeology. His creations are conceived in reverse, exploring the origins of certain high-tech buzzwords.

The exhibition MIX MAKER brings together repurposed objects, including two new series: the Mix Consoles (2024) and Higiafones (2023–2024). These two types of objects, which have lost their original function of transmitting sound signals, are transformed into sculptural artworks. Originally, they consisted of consoles filled with buttons or perforated transparent panels, enabling listening through the reproduction of voices and sounds. Today, reimagined as wall installations, they remain silent, metaphors for communication or transmission rendered impossible. Crafted with carton marquetry stitched together with telephone wires or assembled using the bright colors of plexiglass sheets, these works result from meticulous workshop craftsmanship, blending material experimentation and techniques with machine assistance.

Hygiaphones is named after a brand that became a common noun: the term, shifting from a proper noun to a generic one, now refers to transparent partition devices. From one epidemic to the next, from avian flu to COVID-19, hygiaphones protect against the spread of germs and microbes. While simplifying the field of vision, these filters can also crystallize users’ frustration with an overwhelmed bureaucracy. Their original purpose of creating hygienic boundaries and separations has been supplemented by a security imperative, reflecting yet another sign of the times.

Mix Consoles harken back to mixing boards that offer endless possibilities for manipulating recorded sounds, allowing them to be blended and recomposed. Despite some variations, these consoles are presented as bas-relief installations of visual elements, inviting the viewer to focus their gaze—even if nothing can be heard with closed eyes. Some things grow more intriguing as they become more complex. This takes us into the realm of multitracks, selectors, amplifiers, filters, levels, signal processors, mixers, compressors, switches, potentiometers, couplings and decouplings, effects, balances, and other circuits of all kinds.