Magnus Bärtås — démarche, bio, archives
Peio Aguirre — un texte critique
Re-enacted biographies — notes sur le travail d’adaptation

Who is…? is a collection of texts, photographs, and videos presenting portraits of artists, created by Magnus Bärtås, a Swedish visual and media artist. These “biographies” are structured around a series of statements, short sentences reconstructed from memories of conversations between the author and artists he met by chance during his travels around the world. Launched in 1998, the project has been presented as an installation in various European public spaces and, since 2001, has included a video component in which the artists act out the scenes from their statements.

TOPO offers a multimedia adaptation of Bärtås' work. Taking the artist's narrative method as a starting point, Agence TOPO adds a creative element by opening a section where Internet users can in turn construct a portrait. (Notes on adapting work for the internet)

In its interactive form, the project plays with questions of identity on the internet. Between the “Googlization” of individuals, the proliferation of databases, and the self-representation of internet users who create real or idealized profiles for themselves on social networking sites, questions of identity remain fundamental while also being sources of fiction and staging.

Translated into several languages (French, English, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and Latvian), Bärtås' original work allows TOPO to address the globalization of communities that are increasingly curious to communicate and elucidate the eternal mystery of Who is Who?… Who is … Who?