You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light

Working across moving image, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance, Haig Aivazian (b. 1980, lives and works in Beirut), explores the ways in which power relationships surreptitiously seep into our everyday lives, affecting bodies, objects, landscapes and architecture alike. For several years, Aivazian has focused on artificial light and the ways it echoes questions of power and control in modern life. Conceived as a lever for police coercion, public lighting—positioned symbolically against darkness and, by extension, crime—has become a central tool in the planning of cities and public infrastructure.

At La Galerie, centre d’art contemporain d’intérêt national de Noisy-le-Sec, the artist presents all three episodes of his animated mini-series titled You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light. Conceived specifically for the art center’s domestic setting, the exhibition places the films in dialogue with the former villa’s singular architecture, transforming its rooms into an immersive journey that moves between light and darkness, with shifting colors and musical transitions. You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light is Aivazian’s first solo exhibition at a French institution.

Aivazian was a resident at the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici in 2024-2025. You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light is co-produced by La Galerie, centre d’art contemporain d’intérêt national de Noisy-le-Sec and the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, in collaboration with DCA – Association française de développement des centres d’art contemporain.