Shuffle

Christian Marclay uses a range of mediavideo, sculpture, installation, and performance to address the ways that music and sound impact our experience of the world. While he frequently uses photograms and found images in his work, what is not widely known is the extent to which photography has become a tool of choice. In "Shuffle", he has extensively photographed the appearance of musical notation in the world: on shop awnings, chocolate tins, T-shirts, underwear, and other unexpected places.This work reveals Marclay, a prominent figure in contemporary art, to be an obsessive photographic note-taker with a witty flair for uncovering clue like music hidden in the landscape and adorning our world. All around us, it seems, are musical notes just waiting to be discovered and played. Each of these images is presented on an individual card, and the entire deck is enclosed in a distinctive package. Part Fluxus box, part John Cage-ian 'chance operation' or Eames House of Cards, the deck offers a compelling, serendipity-driven visual experience, but is also intended to be used as a spontaneous musical score. "Shuffle" includes an explanation and instructions by Marclay.