The making of a digital panorama.

I’m working on a new piece for Cheongju Craft Biennale, opening on September 13th in South Korea. I’ll try to document the project and share insights on this page.

1- Experiencing Nature

As much as I love my work, it involves spending a large part of my life sitting at a desk, starring at a computer screen, and it’s not necessarily pleasant.
Forcing myself outside cities tends to brings some sort of counterbalance to this weird lifestyle, so I’m taking the habit to regularly escape the city/desk/computer scenario and I often find myself in remote locations.

After landing in Seoul, I headed South East and found my way to Sobaeksan National Park, to spent a day going up Birobong, a 1439m peak.

 

Alone on stone steps
Body aches and out of breath
Vanish at summit

No-logram

INTERACTIVE SCREENLESS PROJECTIONS

I’m obsessed with projections in mid-air, ever since I first saw Princess Leia ‘so-called’ hologram, and I dreamed for years of having a go at Tom Cruise’s UX in minority report.

I’ve used various techniques to explore similar aesthetics: peppers ghost (used in the Tupac Coachella concert), semi transparent screens, mirrors and lenses, which are often referred to as “holograms” but are in fact cheap tricks and just 2d projections.
To avoid misleading use of the word hologram (remember the heated debate with Kickstarter’s CEO about the Holus scam?), I use the term No-logram (not a hologram). Read more →

Kanazawa art residency: digital meets traditional Japanese crafts

We are in Kanazawa, Japan, for a two weeks residency, to discover the traditional Japanese crafts works developed since the Edo era (1603-1868): gold leaf and lacquer, as well as the more recent art of glass making.

This project started at a UNESCO Creative Cities meeting during a conversation between the mayors of Kanazawa (JP) and Enghien-les-bains (FR), the two cities co-producing the project with the Centre des arts of Enghien-les-Bains, a subsidised media arts center.

We are exploring possible connections between the traditional Japanese arts and the digital arts, and how softwares, algorithms, computer driven machines could be combined together with the use of gold, wood, paper, lacquer or glass. Read more →

The making of “ATOMS”

I’m lucky enough to work with art institutions and creative festivals, and it’s very rare that I consider working with a “brand”. But when Barneys NYC approached my gallery to offer me a “carte blanche” to create four installations for their flagship store in New York, I was intrigued. When they offered to share the creative direction with legendary Brooklyn born rapper JAY Z, I was in. Read more →

The making of Fuji

I’m really happy to introduce a new audiovisual installation named FUJI (不死). The project was developed during an artist residency in Takamatsu, Japan, in the art island district. I was invited to present Eyjafjallajökull, a project inspired by Icelandic volcano’s eruption in 2010, consisting of a large drawing animated through projections of light. But the proximity of mount Fuji urged me to develop a new piece.

ASCENSION

During my stay in Japan, I had a chance to actually get to the Fujiyama and climb it for a day. We couldn’t get to the top this time, but during the ascension through the fog, the changing weather would let the summit appear for a few moments, making it seem unreachable and almost unreal. It felt like an intangible monument to the glory of nature. Photos by Juliette Bibasse. Read more →

Five ideas to enhance experiences in museums

Through my practice as a visual artist, I was lucky enough to present my work in a variety of locations and contexts, from large public spaces, media art festivals, to small galleries. Recently, I also started conversations with art institutions, and had a chance to show some artworks at MAMCO, Geneva (2008, 2009, 2012), Centre Pompidou, Paris (2010), BFI London (2011) and CMoDA, Beijing (2012). I also conducted a workshop with young audience at Musée d’Art et d’histoire, Geneva (2013).

I dedicate a large part of my time to research and understand new and upcoming technologies, and I had a chance to share some ideas with curators and museum professionals. Here’s a brief list of ideas that I think could help enhance or create new experiences in museums. Read more →