Poster Statement

Through robotic installations, we pursue our researches on intelligent environments and life embodiment into matter. We regard machines as distinct entities from us, as much as we consider ourselves distinct from nature. Machines, through the ages, can be seen as an inner intermediate dialogue, in which they appear as the physical rendering of abstraction and also as our own comprehension of the structure of the world. First considered as the main intent of the human quest for its artificial double, machines now tend to become autonomous entities, leaning towards the behaviour of real living individuals. We do not intend to simulate nor physically reproduce real life animals but we rather deal with simplistic behaviours engendered by primitive mechanical animates. Shapes move from simple abstract objects (spheres, cylinders, sound, light) to kinetic and complex organisms as polymorphic patterns. We present robotic machines not as specialized and virtuoso automata but rather as expressive animated artworks. We also explore the reformulation of sound and light applications by simulating organic and metabolic functions and by creating dynamic virtual architectures. In addition to the intrinsic mechanical noise, loops and repetitive textures of both organic and metallic sound objects are part of the installations soundtracks, a collection of numerous heteroclite elements chosen for their evocative properties. The goal is to disfigure the inherent nature of the sound samples and to create a peculiar ambiance proper to the metaphoric habitat of machines. Movement itself can be seen as the objective nature of the machine while its perception (from the viewer) as its subjective counterpart. The hyperreal simulacra of the robot world goes beyond the unreachable simulation of life on a computer screen. Robots are not only a virtual model, a pattern in space and time, but also a dynamic and evolving phenomenon embodied in matter. The replication of machine-organisms is a fundamental concept. Ecosystems are obviously based on population (gender and number) and their complexity is obtained from multiplicity of the inherent interactions. The perceived emergent behaviours of these machines produce a multiplicity of meanings based on single dynamic pattern of events. Real Artificial Worlds engender the paradox of simultaneous illusion and reality by a complete immersion of the viewer in a metaphorical but physically responsive environment.

• Louis Philippe Demers, Canada, artist 
• Bill Vorn, Canada, artist