When we were children, we towered over our toys, making them subject to our every whim. In Like Child’s Play, however, Daniel Buren flips the tables. Inspired by wooden block toys, Buren has built a hundred large-scale blocks, arches, triangle, and pediments that now tower over us; instead of looking down upon these toys as we once did, we are forced to look up and recognize the symbolic power they now hold.
The work’s arrangement creates sight lines in the sky, with everything aligning perfectly for the viewer. The audience can navigate through Buren’s artwork, admiring the spacial significance of the objects. Buren also explores the relationship between colors, dividing the exhibition into vibrant colors and a minimalist black-and-white aesthetic. He says, “For me, colour is pure thought, and therefore completely inexpressible, every bit as abstract as a mathematical formula or a philosophical concept.” His colours are playful, extensive, and childish in the most positive sense of the word.