[ISEA2015] Artist Statement: Nicolas Bernier – FREQUENCIES (SYNTHETIC VARIATIONS)

Artist Statement

Sound and light performance (2013)

Presented as a world premiere at MUTEK 2013, frequencies (synthetic variations) is the second instalment in Nicolas Bernier’s avant garde audiovisual series, in which he tampers with sound waves and light bursts in real-time – like a sculptor would carve out a mold as he prepares to realize his creation. Just as impressive as frequencies (a) was at simultaneously rendering sound visible and a stream of light audible, frequencies (synthetic variations) finds the performer processing sequences of light and purely synthetic sounds with extreme precision – resulting in intermittent light blasts within small acrylic structures. Whether he’s hatching inventive sound installations, musique concrète or live video art, the multidisciplinary Bernier is ever mindful of striking a delicate balance between intellect and sensuality, materiality and ephemera, and between organic sounds and digital processing.

  • Nicolas Bernier creates sound performances, installations, musique concrète, live  electronics, post rock, noise improv, and video art while also working in dance, theatre and other interdisciplinary contexts. In 2013, he was awarded the Golden Nica by Prix Ars Electronica. He has performed at Sonar, MUTEK, DotMov Festival and Transmediale, and his recorded works have been published on labels like Crónica, leerraum, Home Normal and LINE. He is a member of Perte de signal, a media arts research and development centre based in Montréal and a long time collaborator with Martin Messier. He holds a PhD in Sonic Arts from the University of Huddersfield (UK) and teaches in the Digital Music program of the Université de Montréal, Canada.

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