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Collectif Coin (FRA) – Abstract – Kansalaistori
Movement, sound and light interweave in Abstract. It presents a repeating 20 minutes loop inspired by the concept of relativity. Time can be perceived as a vertical dimension in which the pixels travel. This movement will be used to freeze time while the audience keeps their feet firmly on the ground.
Since 2013, Maxime Houot has created numerous sound and visual pieces presented on the international scene. Exploring the limits of his own perception, he deploys a practice that is both artisanal and conceptual. Artisanal since the gesture, the manufacturing, the obsessive accumulation of simple shapes are the bases of his work. His questioning begins in the workshop, by making the device that will support his next creation. Even if the term “Digital Artist” can be used, contact with matter, machines, objects, is fundamental in his work. And this artisanal gesture serves as the starting point for a conceptual approach. Graduated in applied physics, the world around him, even put into an equation, has always been a source of fascination and wonder. The time that does not flow, relative reality, void digitization, and man as a digital machine are concepts that accompany him and feed his imagination.
Most of his creations are produced by the company Collectif Coin. Company with which he also likes to experiment by crossing his work with other artists.
Pitaya (FRA) – Whale Ghost – Töölönlahden puisto
Dots of Light move in the air and progressively concentrate to materialize the silhouette of a sea creature. The installation is a 18 meters long kinetic and lighting sculpture that evolves above the public.
General shape recalls big marine mammals, or fossil skeletons as they are usually seen in natural history museums. The glowing dynamic light is also a reference to these strange lighting creatures sighted at the very deep of the oceans.
The installation invites the audience to spend a moment to think about the impact of mankind on our biodiversity. In « Whale Ghost » the audience is therefore witnessing the poetic dance of what could be the Ghost of the last remaining Whale.
A music creation increases the hypnotic atmosphere as the sculpture evolves in different scenarios, at different paces.
Pitaya – L’envol – Hesperia Park
A swarm of migratory birds has settle down for a while in the trees of the City.
High in the branches and inside the trees, their white light creates a serene and very contemplative atmosphere.
Each new place they fly to seems to give them the energy to carry on their endless journey.
The birds are like urban origamis and are installed organically like light jewels to reveal the magnificent of the trees.
Pitaya is a creative studio founded in 2006 by David Lesort and Arnaud Giroud. Light is their main field of study. They are exploring how light can affect materials through their creations. Their art installations are a mix of in situ and object design with a strong focus on what they call a “Design by the multitude”. This type of creation identifies a new space (either indoor or urban scale) to be designed with multiple lighting objects. Therefore, the setting of the objects is as important as their design, and it is the combination of both that creates the final piece. The studio works on a large range of productions such as light objects, luminaires, lighting sculptures and stage design. The scope of their work is wide, from urban scale events in public space to private commissions. Their pieces have been exhibited worldwide in various events and fairs in Paris, Beirut, London, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, Dubai, Houston, New York, or Singapore.
Romain Tardy – The Great Indecision Council – Suvilahti
Who are we really? Who do we want to be?
What do we tell Google, from the apparent intimacy of our smartphone, that we would rather not share with the rest of the world?
With his art installation The Great Indecision Council, visual artist Romain Tardy presents an unsolicited self-portrait of our current society by translating in real time the search terms most frequently used on Google and Google News into visual and audio signals in the public space: they become pulses that are visible and audible both inside and outside the circle.
The Great Indecision Council is a reflection for us all. An image that shows humanity as it really is, not how it wants to be seen. The work takes the shape of a mesmerizing and hypnotic large-scale light and multi-channel sound installation, in which visitors are surrounded by a circle of light, sound, words and computer-generated, mystical chants. The Great Indecision Council invites visitors into the middle of this enchanting work while being watched by spectators close-by, and maybe even far above us.
Romain Tardy has been active in the visual art scene since 2008. Today his work is shown all over the world and most often conceived as poetic sensory experiences using light, video mapping, physical objects and sound. They question our relationship to technological and digital developments and their repercussions on society.
Romain Tardy used to work in animation and post-production studios. After attending art school, he began his professional career as a VJ, which led him to work on collaborations with major artists such as Jay Z, Flying Lotus or Murcof and to the creation of the ANTIVJ label where he worked from 2008 to 2013. Currently he lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.