What is Objective Chance?

Objective chance (hasard objectif) is a Surrealist concept describing meaningful coincidences that seem to reveal hidden connections between inner desires and external events. Andre Breton explored this in ‘Mad Love,’ analyzing how chance encounters with objects or people can feel destined or significant. Unlike random coincidence, objective chance suggests that the unconscious somehow attracts its corresponding external manifestations. The concept influenced Surrealist practices including wandering through cities seeking significant encounters and finding found objects that resonate with unconscious needs. Objective chance connects to automatism’s embrace of accident and remains relevant to understanding how artists discover meaningful imagery through apparently random processes.