Until January 5, 2025, the Pont du Gard Site is hosting the exhibition “Under the pixels, the matter”, created by four international artists. This exhibition explores the border between digital art and physical matter, while questioning our relationship to technology and artistic creation.
The historic site of Pont du Gard, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, is hosting a new temporary exhibition entitled “Under the pixels, the matter”. Four international artists came together to transform this place steeped in history into a space where digital technology becomes an instrument of artistic creation in its own right. Regina Silveira, Ana Maria Tavares, Mona Young-Eun Kim and Nicolas Tourte are the creators of this unique exhibition which explores the border between tangible matter and digital virtuality.
Video, mapping, photography, interactive installation and augmented reality… The techniques used are varied. © Adrien Valette.
“Digital technology is no longer just a communication tool, it is now an instrument of artistic creation,” explains Hervé Hubidos, director of culture and mediation at Pont du Gard, who supervised the creation of this exhibition. Three exhibition spaces located on the left bank of the site are occupied by these works which come in various forms: video, mapping, photography, interactive installation and augmented reality.
Plural sensitivities
The four artists, with very different sensibilities, question the relationship between man, technology and matter. If Ana Maria Tavares, Brazilian, offers creations where the influence of modernism and architectural heritage mixes with a reflection on the place of digital technology in our daily lives, Mona Young-Eun Kim, Franco-Korean artist, questions the he evolution of societies and urban landscapes in a world saturated with signs. French artist Nicolas Tourte addresses, among other things, ecological issues in a powerful video installation.
Nicolas Tourte’s work is a visual metaphor for the climatic upheavals which are disrupting our daily lives. © AV
Indeed, the work of Nicolas Tourte, entitled Fondationpresents a wooden structure on which the word “foundation” is inscribed. Thanks to video mapping, this foundation transforms into a melting glacier, a striking reminder of the effects of global warming. A visual metaphor, in a way, which questions the solidity of the foundations on which our societies rest in the face of environmental upheavals.
In another register, Ana Maria Tavares, with her work Infinite rotation: invention for Piranesiimmerses the viewer in an architectural universe inspired by the Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer. “Here she draws inspiration from the stylistic grammar of the Brazilian utopian modernist architects who transformed the country after the Second World War,” explains Hervé Hubidos. Through moving digital images, the work invites us to reflect on architectural utopias and their resonance in a constantly evolving digital world.
The influence of Oscar Niemeyer and Brazilian architectural heritage is largely palpable in the work of Ana Maria Tavares. © AV
The exhibition continues with the installations of Mona Young-Eun Kim, which line the path leading to the Pont du Gard. Its monumental totems question the possible disappearance of written language in a hypothetical future. By combining augmented reality and physical sculptures, the artist offers a reflection on the excess of information in our contemporary societies. For Hervé Hubidos, “it is a vision of a future where language would have become obsolete, giving way to visual and instinctive communication”.
The exhibition continues outside, to the Pont du Gard. A splendid setting. © AV
Questions and reflections
Beyond the purely aesthetic dimension, this exhibition engages in deep reflection on our relationship with digital technology. The works confront us with questions about the impact of technology in our lives, our way of perceiving reality and the very nature of artistic creation in the digital age. An invitation to rethink our relationship with the world, beyond the pixels.
The exhibition will be held at the Pont du Gard until January 5, 2025, offering visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in this hybrid universe, where physical and digital matter meet and dialogue.
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