Philippe Parreno turns Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall into an "instrument" titled Anywhen

French artist Philippe Parreno has unveiled his commission Anywhen in the Turbine Hall at London’s Tate Modern. The experiential artwork plays with light, sound and moving elements to guide the public through the space.

“Anywhen presents itself as an instrument which performs a series of functions and constructs a series of situations. The hall’s lights are controlled and activated according to different sequences,” says Tate Modern. “A changing soundscape is broadcast from various sources, blurring the sense of inside and outside, public and private, natural and technological. Vertical and horizontal acoustic panels, a screen, a grid of speakers and a projector come together in different configurations, and from time to time they present a film featuring a stage ventriloquist and underwater creatures.” The installation is expected to evolve over time and the sequence of events that will animate the space will begin to form a performative pattern.

The project was executed in collaboration with Liam Gillick, Tino Seghal, Isabel Lewis, Nicolas Becker, Cengiz Hartlap and ventriloquist and comedian Nina Conti, who appears in a film projected in the space. “Anywhen is the first commission to respond to the Turbine Hall’s new position at the centre of the museum, an open space connected to the city itself and free for the public to enter from many different levels and directions,” says Tate Modern. “As if on a walk through an urban park, visitors to Anywhen encounter events, movements and images that appear and disappear over time.”

Anywhen runs until 2 April.