Philippe Parreno: 5 moons | MCA catalogue

For Philippe Parreno, the exhibition is the artwork. Never simply a collection of works, his exhibitions are events: orchestrated compositions that take on a life of their own.

This publication has been conceived as a prediction or ‘prophecy’ for 5 Moons, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia that did not yet exist at the time of the book’s making. It includes cinematic renderings of the exhibition alongside writing by MCA director and curator Suzanne Cotter, philosopher of science Peter Godfrey-Smith, art historian Mathilde Roman, and the artist himself.

At the centre of 5 Moons is an expansive new project that merges a living ecosystem with cinema. Its intricate workings are described by Parreno in a new text about this real-time, multi-perspectival film set in Almería, Spain. For newcomers to Parreno’s work, an in-depth interview provides insight into the artist’s distinct working methods and design process, while other texts explore key themes and ideas: from cuttlefish cognition to poetic resistance and the philosophy of decreation.

Philippe Parreno (b. 1964, France) is one of the most influential artists of his generation. Renowned for expanding the possibilities of the exhibition, he transforms entire museums into scripted environments where the artworks form part of an interconnected whole.

Philippe Parreno: 5 Moons is on display at the MCA from 21 November 2026 from 26 April 2027.

Softcover, Otabind
120 pages
19.8 x 26 cm