Today, a new generation of artists is drawing from the springs of historical psychedelia and ushering in what has been called the third psychedelic revolution—the second one being the emergence of the electronic culture in the late 1980s. As of now, IΔO represents the first light ever shed on psychedelia as understood from the french context and its many international ramifications. Based on the notion of experience – and experiment – IΔO proposes a three-month trip across the psychedelia of yesterday and today. A three-day festival, bringing together some 30 bands and encompassing screenings, readings and lectures, will open the event on November 28th 29th and 30th 2008 in the spectacular nave of the CAPC.

The term “psychedelic”, etymologically meaning “making clear, visible” or “freeing the mind”, appeared in the United States in the late 1950s to describe the effect of altered perception produced by certain psychotropic substances—the opening of the doors of perception.

IΔO, the name refer to the words of a song by the psychedelic rock band Gong, bases its approach on this one-off experience, at the crossroads of music, writing, poetry, happenings, art, film and TV, graphics, design, comics, independent press, and fashion. This methodology helps us, from an historical viewpoint, to reconfigure a network of historical relations within the art scene of the day, and, from a museum-based viewpoint, reconsider major experiences – and experiments – sometimes shunted to one side because they have left few material traces behind, as well as re-appraise a certain number of aesthetic projects regarded as part of the subculture.

Curators: Yann Chateigné, with Axelle Blanc and Tiphanie Blanc

In collaboration with Corner, ali_fib, monoquini, Novart Bordeaux

With the support of Oxbow, Caisse d'Epargne Aquitaine Nord, i-concept, Arte, Mouvement, Radio Nova, Chronic'art, Spirit, Tsugi