Feel the ground shake under your feet! You have another two days to experience Jacques Bilodeau‘s Pendular Destabilizer at Galerie Joyce Yahouda. This site-specific, movable sculpture is animated by the gallery visitors themselves. Step onto the inclined platform and start walking around. You’ll have to climb up right onto the edge of the sculpture (mind your head!) to unleash the hydraulic motors. Depending on where you’re standing and your weight, the platform will adjust its angle and you’ll get a gentle ride down to the gallery floor.

The sensation is both fun and a little unnerving as you feel the ground shift under you. And the situation becomes more interesting as more visitors are added to the equation and you start to negotiate the sculpture’s movements as a group.

Bilodeau describes his artwork as a “living ground”, inspired by his research of the 1960s group Architecture Principe and their “oblique function” theory. The artist also follows in the footsteps of Minimalists such as Carl Andre, who was the originator of horizontal, or ground sculptures.

The Pendular Destabilizer is a well conceived and well executed work, so make sure you take a ride before the exhibition ends on Saturday. To give you an idea of how the sculpture functions, check out this video:

Galerie Joyce Yahouda, space 516
Jacques Bilodeau
Pendular Destabilizer
March 31 – May 7, 2011
www.joyceyahoudagallery.com