Patrick Corillon. Oysilo Precoce: Botanic observation, 1992

Mixed media installation, with Dymo text labels, metal wire, string, perspex plates, and peat pot, c. 80 x 48 x 25 cm. The artist was inspired by a walk through the Botanical garden in Paris in winter time. No plants could be seen, but people were reading the text plates of the absent flowers, as if the names could evoke them. For 'Oysilo Precoce' Corillon decided to take on the role of botanist, studying the (unsuccesfull) growth of Oysilo seeds. He used Dymo pliers to record his findings in code, and attached the Dymo text labels to wires, connected to a central rod holding a perspex plate with a peat pot. Ultimately the installation took the shape of a plant itself. Provenance: Tanya Rumpff Gallery Haarlem.

Patrick Corillon (b. 1959) is a Belgian contemporary artist and story-teller who creates alternative realities through the construction of narratives, using sculpture, film, writing, or performance. His work often refers to the play between the present and the absent.