Exhibition views of You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light, Haig Aivazian, 2026
Courtesy of the artist, © Haig Aivazian
Photos © Aurélien Mole
You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light
Haig Aivazian
10 Sept. — 12 Dec. 2026
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.
Sunday, October 4, 2026
Special opening of La Galerie from 2pm to 7pm
3pm: guided tour of the exhibition with curator Marc Bembekoff
As part of the Rencontres artistiques de Noisy-le-Sec
Free and open to all
Saturday, October 31, 2026, 2pm-5pm
Collective reading of Samia Henni’s book, Architecture de la contre-révolution, L’armée française dans le nord de l’Algérie
Limited places, registration required
Thursday, November 26, 2026, 7pm-9pm
7pm: “Une histoire des images en mouvement. Des cavernes pariétales à l’art contemporain en passant par le zootrope”, conference by Marc Bembekoff
Médiathèque Roger-Gouhier
3 rue Jean Jaurès
F-93130 Noisy-le-Sec
8pm: guided tour of the exhibition at La Galerie
Free, registration required: by phone at +33 (0)1 83 74 57 61 or by email at mediatheque.noisylesec@est-ensemble.fr
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 5pm-5:30pm
As part of the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine et Matrimoine
Saturday, November 14, 2026, 5pm-5:30pm
As part of the Festival du film franco-arabe de Noisy-le-Sec
From focused insights to unexpected perspectives, each visit encourage discussion while allowing room for multiple interpretations of the works
Free and open to all
Saturdays from 2:30pm to 4pm, except for school holidays
Free, registration required
“De la lumière qui sort de nos bouches”
In a darkened space, a group of children gathers every Saturday to create a space of resistance and bring back the light. Coded messages, communication tools, stories to preserve, and a piece of fabric to hide under at night: the children are invited to help shape this space for passing on knowledge.
Visit and workshop (2h) – elementary school
- “Le relais des lucioles” with artist Laura Burucoa
What if, like fireflies, we could inhabit the night to share our stories, reflect, and exchange ideas away from public view? Their light does not disturb the darkness; it allows them to communicate with one another. In this workshop, the night becomes a space to explore questions and reflections that are often left aside during the day. Participants are invited to work in pairs or trios to create posters using phosphorescent tape. Each group is asked to formulate a question, which will then be passed on to the next group.
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“Faire briller la nuit” with artist Guilhem Prat
What if a light could bring a story, a memory, or a presence to life? Participants work together to create “magic lamps” by drawing, cutting out shapes, and using translucent paper. Once lit in the dark, their lamps reveal images and messages to share, before becoming part of a large collective constellation.
Visit and workshop (2×1h30) – elementary school
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“Pleine Lune” with artist Laura Burucoa
What happens on full moon nights? It is said that people have trouble sleeping, werewolves awaken, girls turn into mermaids, and animals change their behavior. Participants will collectively create moons out of Rhodoid, which will then be projected into the workshop space. In the light of these luminous landscapes, they’ll imagine what’s happening there and record the sound effects and stories that unfold.
- “Les ombres ne dorment pas” with artist Guilhem PratIs the night necessarily a place of fear and emptiness?
Participants imagine their own version of the night by creating night skies, and then paper cutouts. Set in motion and projected in a reinterpreted shadow theater, these elements bring to life small scenes and stories created collectively.
Based on the exchanges, discussions, and reflections sparked by the performance Les yeux fermés, the participants work together to create a black-and-white fanzine. Some of the remarks recorded throughout the experience are transcribed and serve as the raw material for their graphic designs.