From Thursday 26 January 2023, TOPO welcomed artist Baron Lanteigne for an open residency as part of its Fluidité thematic programme. The work underwent a metamorphosis over the course of the residency and was shown live in TOPO's window. This residency formula, combined with the window exhibition, gave Johann Baron-Lanteigne the opportunity to work with TOPO's support on a system for public interaction with the work online. Possible user interactions will be carried out by means of an algorithmic robot (bot) that operates using artificial intelligence, via the Discord discussion interface created by the artist.

‘I'm inspired by 3D creation tools designed to simulate reality. Thanks to their flexibility and imperfections, these tools are capable of broken or surreal results. In this way they acquire properties of their own, which I consider to be virtual matter. I create procedural systems that bring this material to life in real time by combining 3D geometry, lighting and a virtual camera. This system is a playground for exploring the boundary between the figurative image and the abstraction that arises from the imperfections of this cinematography’.

– Baron Lanteigne

Discussion

On Thursday 16 February, Baron Lanteigne met for a 5 à 7 about his work in progress. In the course of the discussion, Baron Lanteigne gave a detailed presentation of his work and the thoughts behind it. Among the topics discussed were real-time 3D with Unreal, parametric controls, the exploration of these with the game and the imperfections that arise from them. The artist was also available to answer questions from the audience.