Welcome this Sunday to IFP for the opening of STEP: DIRECTION, an exhibition with new media artist Julien Maire. The outcome of a 6-week residency at IFP, this exhibition is also the continuation of an ongoing research project into the three-dimensional image; the nature and influence of media on society, our memory and understanding of reality.
The exhibition in Black Sesame presents a series of kinetic installations that challenge the space as well as the spectator with their intricate form and effect. In these works Julien Maire investigates the notion of mobility and reproduction in a digital age and ponders on an archaic way of representing reality using the most recent technology. Composed from digitally designed and fabricated components together with electronic controllers, a sculptural expansion system occupies the main room, continuously modifying and creating interruptions to the space. In parallel, a customized projection device explores "cinema in relief", a method developed by the artist of projecting images using three-dimensional objects printed in a translucent material. Miniature motifs taken from the Beijing cityscape made by participants of the fabrication workshops, are magnified to reveal a highly textured image that explores the depth of field made possible only by using a volumetric form.
In his artworks and performances, Brussels-based Julien Maire (b. 1969, France) systematically re-invents the technology of visual media. His research is a manifest hybrid between media archaeology and the production of new media constellations. His output consists of prototypes proposing unique technological configurations that produce a new, specific image quality. As industrial prototypes, these original creations – no matter how technically clever and refined – are rather useless: they are too complex, too delicate and too clunky to ever be considered for mass production. As artistic statements, the main function of these full-scale constructions is to provoke an effect of wonder, alerting the viewer to the ambivalent status of moving images produced by a machine. - Edwin Carels
This residency and exhibition is a part of the 10th Croisements Festival and was made possible with the support of Wallonie-Bruxelles International, WBTD, Institut Français (FaguoWenhua) and The French Embassy in China.
The Stereolithographic 3D printing is sponsored by Formlabs. www.formlabs.com