frequencies (a / silence) 2017
FREQUENCIES (A / SILENCE)
Tuning forks, concrete, no sound, circa 2017
After near a decade creating a corpus of works with tuning forks, I wanted to restrain myself from using it: I wanted to make sure I would explore new grounds because I could have worked with tuning forks during my entire life.
I did two main actions in that direction : the first one was to give away my personal tuning forks collection with the release of frequencies (a / friction), a sonic work published by the Italian house 901 Editions. What was left of my collection was then poured in concrete and fixed on a frame. The tuning forks can now be hanged on a wall in stillness. At the same time, I also published a small book at Les presses réel titled «Sur le diapason». I haven't use the tuning fork in any new work since then.
Note: part of the «frequencies» cycle comprising about 10 artworks of different forms. Many are already acquired but this one is available for acquisition.
VISION COULEUR 2024
VISION COULEUR is a performance where the performer to PLAY colors like one plays music: the sonic parameters of a small modular synthesizer are closely mapped to video program audio-reacting to the sounds.
The project is nourished by scientific and experimental readings on flicker-induced hallucinations and other consciousness expansion (notably Walter 1953, Huxley 1956, Kast 1964, Blewett 1969, Bartossek & al. 2021, Makin & al. 2023) while graphically inspired by theories of color and optics — in particular that of Newton and Geothe.
Submerged in non-stop bursts of sounds and vivid colors, the performer might become exhausted by it’s own performance and his visual perception might become distorted. When both the public and the performer can start, after a while, to see colors between the colors with noise printed on our mutual retinas, this is when one can understand the experience is working.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.
Nicolas Bernier
Canada
Nicolas Bernier creates audiovisual performances and installations aiming to carve a dialogue between sound and tangible matter. Shaped by his work within the fields of cinema, literature, dance and theatre companies, his own language blend together elements of music, photography, design, science, video art, architecture, light design and scenography. In the midst of this eclecticism, his artistic concerns remain constant: the balance between the cerebral and the sensual, and between organic sources and digital processing.
Awardee of the prestigious Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica 2013 (Austria), his work widely recognize, presented all over the world: SONAR (Spain), Mutek (Canada), Elektra (Canada), ZKM (Germany), Transmediale (Germany) and LABoral (Spain) to name a few. He holds a PhD from the University of Huddersfield (UK) and is a professor at Université de Montréal.