PARIS.- With Nothing at All, Idiorythmic Modes of Coexistence, the artists Jérôme Joy and David Ryan question the reality of the world with the poetic licence that has characterised their approach since their first collaboration, back in the early 1980s. Using actual events as the basis of their work, the project is deployed both within the Palais de Tokyo itself as well as at the heart of a specific geographic area. The narrative they develop recounts the birth of the clover hunter, a character personified by David Ryan, as well as the course of events related to his existence, and its uncertainties.

Through drawing, video or sound and musical creation, the artists combine autobiographical and fictional elements to explore the notion of coexistence. Their work deals with limitations and thresholds, upside down worlds and re-enchantment. Therefore, the clover hunter is not merely an imaginary character, but navigates between fiction and reality. Sometimes his dreams communicate and interact with the people willing to welcome them into their reality, leaving fragile forms emerge; evidence of exchanges, relations and relationships that can exist in both the visible and in the invisible.

The art project developed by Jérôme Joy and David Ryan gleans inspiration from their respective personal histories and the social and political reality of the 1980s. Particularly influenced by the unrest in Ireland and the political and economic context of the time, while also involved in the post-punk protest movement, their mutual scepticism towards institutions and the world of art led to the start of their collaboration. In recent years, they have developed artistically poetic work, which is both committed and discreet, and continues to question forms of liberty and the pursuit of happiness with delicacy, tenderness and kindness.

Jérôme Joy (born in 1961) is a composer and musician, present on the international experimental and improvised music scene.

David Ryan (born in 1960) develops a visual art practice, especially drawing and video, and personifies the clover hunter character.

Jérôme Joy
“I don’t see why my inventions and ideas are more important than anyone else’s. I believe we all have our own realities - no matter how singular they are - and they all coexist without any real need to prioritise one over another, or exclude some and attach more importance to others. we suggest a reorganisation and readjustment of the exchange, the experience and of (life) experiences, so that each and every one of us can develop our own pace (rather than surrender to the generalised, abstract ones that society imposes on us) and live with these continual adjustments. It’s very lively. Numerous possibilities open up; variations, alternatives, small worlds and these tenuous margins interest me, they require deadlines and time limits (nothing absolute or ideal for this): it’s there.”

David Ryan
“One night: At Blois, Alain set me a challenge. In his garden at ten in the evening, Alain said: “It’s your turn now!!” I crouched down and picked a four-leaf clover using the glow of my mobile phone as a light. My heart was pounding as a result of such a sign appearing in this way. Alain was moved. So we went to his library, where he said: “Close your eyes.” A few days later, Alain opened the book Potlatch . I had left his clover on the chapter which begins as follows: “The adventurer does not experience the adventure but creates its circumstances” (or something similar). The next morning at six, my car broke down... (remaining humble isn’t easy).”

“One day: Some hitchhikers asked me what I did in life. I said, “I pick four-leaf clovers.” The young man said, “you must be very rich to waste your time like that?” I said, “No, on the contrary, I take my time. I am poor.”

Curator: Katell Jaffrès