Miguel Chevalier’s work questions poetically and metaphorically, nature in the age of the artificial. Relying on a process initiated at the end of the nineties, based on the observation of the plant kingdom, and its imaginary transposition within a digital universe, Miguel Chevalier has created various herbariums made up of virtual seeds that allow him like a landscaper, to create light gardens that grows endlessly.
Among these different herbariums, we discover in the exhibition the Fractal Flowers which presents a nature going out of the botanical classifications, at the edge of four worlds: vegetable, mineral, animal and robotic.
Eight imaginary virtual flowers bloom within 8 LCD screens. Miguel Chevalier gave them imaginary name, such as Cosmos Newtonia, Coronae Digitalis or Psychonautica Ornettica Hexadecimalis. The flowers are born, unfold incredible forms, undulate at the mercy of a virtual wind that we do not feel, before disappearing before our eyes to make room for others. These living paintings exert a disturbing fascination on the viewer. These works hypnotize the eye in a dazzling dialectic between the real and the virtual.
In addition to these video artworks, 8 sculptures made by 3D printing are presented, which materialize the virtual. This revolutionary technique for the field of sculpture makes it possible to reproduce the incredible forms of algorithmic flowers born of digital germination. Presented under Plexiglas cylinders, they become sacred objects, freezing the beauty of digital life.
The visitor finally sees these imaginary flowers unfold within a large projected virtual garden. The virtual flowers bloom, blossom, climb, wither and are reborn in infinite variation and composition. This vegetal ballet brings a meditative sensation.
The Fractal Flowers exhibition is an ode to nature. The different creations reflect our current world where nature is more and more controlled and conditioned, as well as the artificial life that has become possible.
Beyond their aesthetic qualities, these works question the stakes of genetic manipulation: no one can predict what these flowers will produce freely to cross and reproduce to infinity…
They address the need to preserve biodiversity at the risk of being reduced to an artificial nature. These artificial paradises seek to create a new relationship with nature, to recreate the conditions of a symbiosis between humans and nature.
At Ara Art Center, is currently on show “Digital Beauty”, the first solo show by Miguel Chevalier in Seoul. Among the 14 installations presented, 4 are completely new, including Attractors Dance. Born out of a collaboration with the artist Patrick Tresset, Attractors Dance is a surprising five-armed drawing robot. A musical creation by Claude Micheli accompanies the journey and enhances the experience for the visitors.
Miguel Chevalier. Fiori frattali (semi e giardino) e Digital Beauty, Centro d’arte Ara, Seoul (Corea del Sud), 18.01.2023 – 11.02.2024.
images (all):Miguel Chevalier. Fractal Flowers, 2023, ph: Thomas Granovsky
