artist residency Archives

Residency Methods | Selected Artist

In the framework of the residency programme Methods, the jury selected the proposals by Héloïse Colrat.

The Methods artist residency is a project by Ohme in partnership with the 4MAT department of the École Polytechnique de Bruxelles and the Centre de Recherches en Archéologie et Patrimoine CReA-Patrimoine of the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Héloïse Colrat (1992, Lyon) is a French artist based in Brussels.

She is also the scientific glassblower in charge at the chemistry department at the University of Liège.

In 2023, she obtained a CAP in scientific glassblowing at the Lycée Dorian in Paris and in 2017 a master’s degree at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin in Strasbourg as part of the glass workshop.

Héloïse’s project focuses on the techniques, materials and cultural contexts of medieval glassmaking. The collaboration with Alicia Van Ham-Meert will enable her to delve into the complex world of medieval glass, focusing in particular on the intriguing field of trick glasses, which played an important role in the social gatherings of the wealthy classes during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Héloïse’s project goes beyond mere curiosity; she seeks to immerse herself in the historical and technical nuances of these glasses, attempting to understand not only their forms, but also the societal contexts in which they flourished. At the heart of her investigation is the desire to recreate one of the oldest trick glasses: the drinking horn. Derived from animal horns, the glass version of this iconic vessel conceals a myriad of fascinating subterfuges, inviting Héloïse to unlock its secrets through experimentation.

She will experiment with vitrifiable mixtures using natural materials, echoing historical practices and techniques. By combining her artistic efforts with scientific enquiry, historical research and aesthetic exploration, she seeks to uncover not only the technical subtleties but also the cultural significance of these ancient practices.

Héloïse’s methodological approach is multifaceted, encompassing techniques such as blowing with a torch – an ancient practice that predates the blowpipe, which was widespread in the Middle Ages. This technique offers a unique opportunity to work with mixtures of raw materials, using gathered and charred plants to create intricate enamelled decorations reminiscent of 13th-century glass production in the Middle East.

www.heloisecolrat.com

Project Partners

This residency programme is organised thanks to the support of Innoviris and the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Methods residency | Call for applications

This call is now closed.
The selected artist will be announced on 25 April 2024.

Each year, Ohme supports five artists through artistic and technical residencies. Through this initiative, depending on the specific needs of each artist, Ohme actively supports the creation of unique research projects which are then presented to the general public. In particular, the organisation offers solid technical and scientific support for the arts and crafts, working in networks with researchers, and promoting exchanges between art, science and technology.

In collaboration with ULB departments 4MAT and CReA-Patrimoine, as well as ENSAV La Cambre, Ohme is launching a call for artists/craftspeople on the subject of medieval glassmaking. The project is rooted in Alicia Van Ham-Meert’s research in archaeology and materials science (ULB), and benefits from the support of Clémentine Vaultier, artistic assistant at the ceramics department at La Cambre.

Description of the residency :

The call is aimed at a glass artist or craftsperson wishing to gain a better understanding of the chemistry and physics of glass and its history, and to carry out experiments in glassmaking using local resources (quartz, wood ash, metal oxides).

The residency will consist of several stages detailed below.

Phase 1 : field study, collection and calcination – 5 days

The artist will take part in a materials collection phase in the vicinity of Stavelot Abbey, with the aim of sampling, labelling and storing these materials. A calcination phase will also take place on site to collect ashes, particularly fern ashes, in several places. This collection will take place over several consecutive days.

Some students from the La Cambre ceramics workshop will also be joining in the collection, with the aim of making ash glazes afterwards. Several members of Ohme, as well as artists and members of the public interested in this activity, will also be taking part. The collection and calcination days will culminate in artistic and scientific discussions about fire, in connection with Clémentine Vaultier’s artistic research project.

Phase 2 : laboratory study – 5 days

Alicia Van Ham-Meert and the artist will analyse the collected materials together using modern analysis methods (fluorescence, x-ray diffraction), exchanging their knowledge and practices, and will produce glass samples from several recipes. The metal oxides collected will also be used to consider various strategies for colouring the glass. The artist selected will have the opportunity to acquire a better scientific understanding of glass, to practise chemical analysis of the materials collected and to be able to anticipate his or her work in the studio.

Phase 3 : working with glass in the studio and visual research – 20 days

The artist will experiment in his or her own studio with larger quantities of the materials collected, and in particular will have to blow glass recipes with a muff and make flat glass. This will enable them to understand the practical challenges faced by craftsmen of the time and to assess the effectiveness of using different glass recipes.

Once they have mastered these new glass compositions, the artist will be able to develop their own artistic research based on these medieval glass recipes. The artist will then be able to use the manufacturing techniques of their choice, and play with the different glass compositions made with the resources collected. The artist will be able to explore how variations in materials, and even seasonal variations, influence aesthetics and form.

Phase 4 : presentation of the research – 3-day festival and exhibition

The research experiments will be shown in Brussels on 11, 12 and 13 October 2024 during the Curieucity festival, a festival to raise awareness of science and the arts, organised by ULB and VUB in partnership with Ohme. This presentation should ideally take place around a wood-fired oven in the public space and will also be accompanied by scientific and artistic presentations by Alicia Van Ham-Meert and Clémentine Vaultier. The research project will also be presented at the annual Ohme showcase exhibition in February 2025.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a glass artist or craftsperson with solid practical experience in glass shaping, and ideally in glassblowing techniques. Although glassblowing skills are not strictly required, they will be considered a significant asset.

The artist or craftsperson will also be interested in the physico-chemical properties of glass and the use of local resources to produce it.
The artist or craftsperson will have an interest in traditional methods of glass production and ideally experience of working with wood-fired kilns that can partially reproduce ancient manufacturing conditions.
The artist or craftsperson must be able to produce and shape glass independently in the workshop (kiln, tools, etc.).
The artist or craftsperson will have a good command of French and/or English.
The artist or craftsperson does not need to be based in Belgium, but as regular transport costs are not foreseen in this project, Belgian residents will be favoured.

What we offer

• A total budget of €6,000 excluding VAT to be divided between the artist’s remuneration and production costs (energy), depending on the proposed project.
• Access to cutting-edge material science and archaeological knowledge
• Experience of glassmaking using local resources
• The opportunity to work on your glass compositions in depth and to systematically analyse your materials
• Consider different strategies for colouring glass using natural materials (metal oxides).
• The opportunity to exhibit his research at an art and science festival in Brussels and at a group exhibition at Ohme.

Residency timetable

• Application deadline: 14/04/2024, 23:59
• Announcement of the selected candidate: 25/04/2024
• Harvesting and lab phase: 10 days to be planned between May and June 2024
• Workshop research days: 20 days to be planned between June and September 2024
• Research presentation event: 11, 12 and 13 October 2024
• Presentation of the project as part of Ohme’s annual showcase: February 2025

How to apply

If you are an artist interested in this artistic residency, send your application before 14/04/2024, 23:59, including the elements listed below in a single PDF to be sent to the following address: opencall@ohme.be

• You CV up to date
• Your portfolio including relevant projects
• A text of no more than one page, in French or English, explaining your interest in the residency and any artistic intentions for it
• A statement of intent, maximum two pages, in English, relating to the artistic research project you wish to develop or refine, including a description of the project.
• A completed contact form – download here

We look forward to working with you. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at opencall@ohme.be.

Partners

Alicia Van Ham-Meert trained as an engineer, and then pursued a career in scientific archaeology. She holds a Master’s degree in Archaeological Sciences from Oxford University, and specialised in the development of non-destructive methods for studying ancient glass and metals during her doctorate at the KU Leuven. An expert in isotope analysis, she also worked on medieval wood for the production of glass from wood ash in the TIMBER project at the University of Copenhagen. She is also renowned for her interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to archaeology.

Continuing her research today, Alicia Van Ham-Meert is focusing on the historical and archaeological study of glass production in Stavelot Abbey, established in the mid-7th century. In studying the case of Stavelot, she is also looking at the history of glass on a local and international scale, through the analysis of glass samples recovered during excavations. This research uses advanced analytical methods to investigate these questions, and is based on an approach that integrates the study of history, archaeology and materials science.

In this study, particular attention is paid to the collection of raw materials with the aim of faithfully recreating medieval glass recipes. Alicia undertakes meticulous fieldwork to collect the quartz/sand and plant matter essential for glassmaking, using methods that are thought to have been used in the Middle Ages. Alicia then uses these materials to reproduce historical recipes for medieval glass, drawing on ancient texts, to better understand the processes of the time and their environmental impacts.

Clémentine Vaultier, a French artist based in Brussels, trained as a ceramist but is more passionate about the world of fire than the objects it can create. She explores how we produce, use and share heat, bringing together ceramics, performance and education around this element. By creating, collecting and rearranging technical, historical and archival material, and in dialogue with others, she weaves narratives around heat as an essential human need and a phenomenon in itself. She is an artistic assistant in the ceramics department at La Cambre and coordinates the transdisciplinary module ‘firing together here’, a position in which she opens up the collection stages to the ceramics community at La Cambre.

4MAT is a department of the Brussels School of Engineering of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

The department’s research activities focus on inorganic materials, and cover the entire life cycle of materials, from their synthesis and processing to the optimisation of their (micro)structures for a given application and the best possible management of their end-of-life. This approach is primarily motivated by the increasing scarcity of resources, which makes sustainable development a priority.

The research topics are of both fundamental and industrial interest. This implies a wide variety of research funding schemes, ranging from European and national projects to direct funding by industrial partners.

The Centre de Recherches en Archéologie et Patrimoine CReA-Patrimoine brings together all the research programmes of the Université libre de Bruxelles in the fields of archaeology and heritage, both in Belgium and abroad.

It provides practical training for students in field archaeology and is the main point of contact for the public authorities responsible for heritage.

Project Partners

This residency programme is organised thanks to the support of Innoviris and of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Sustainable Robotics – Artist residency

Each year, Ohme supports and offers its expertise to artists through five artistic and technical residencies. Through this initiative, and according to the specific needs of each artist, Ohme actively supports the creation, production and diffusion of innovative artistic projects, provides solid technical and scientific support in research and development, networks with experts and researchers, and promotes exchanges between art, science and technology.

Ohme launched a call for artists on the theme of sustainable robotics in partnership with the Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies – BrIAS, and with FARI – Institute of Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good, both co-founded and co-led by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB).

The selected artists are A Two Dogs Company – Kris Verdonck, and Dewi Brunet.

A Two Dogs Company (ATDC) serves as the creative core for Kris Verdonck’s innovative projects in performing and transdisciplinary arts since 2010. Based in Brussels, ATDC operates as a network structure, collaborating with both permanent and freelance talents. Verdonck’s consistent exploration of the societal and ecological impacts of technological advancements fuels ATDC’s endeavors. His multidisciplinary approach blends theatrical and visual elements to create unique artistic expressions showcased in theaters, museums, and public spaces.

ATDC, in collaboration with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (KBIN), proposes the project Garden of the Future. This endeavour seeks to envision a future garden shaped by biodiversity loss and the integration of self-sustaining robots. Through an exhibition at the Museum of Natural Sciences, the project aims to deploy robots mimicking ecological functions of vanished animal species. Powered by renewable energy sources and devoid of traditional batteries, these robots will demonstrate a symbiotic relationship with their environment. ATDC’s artistic expertise, coupled with KBIN’s scientific insights, will drive this exploration, fostering dialogue between art, technology, and ecology.

This residency provides a platform to develop the ‘Garden of the Future’ project further. Through technical and scientific collaborations, the project aims to refine the design and functionality of robots while deepening the artistic and ecological narratives. By leveraging expertise from the arts, robotics, and biology, the residency seeks to create an innovative and educational experience that raises awareness of ecological dynamics and the role of technology in addressing climate change.

Dewi Brunet is a folding artist. Self-taught, he has been practising this discipline for over fifteen years. Still a little-known practice, he sees folding as a technique, a medium of expression and a multi-disciplinary field of research. Today, his artistic projects focus on the sensitive relationship between the living world and robots. Dewi’s practice delves into the realm of Oribotics, a fusion of nature, origami, and robotics pioneered by Matthew Gardiner.

Dewi’s project seeks to blur further the boundaries between living organisms and machines through the creation of innovative Oribotics hybrids. Building upon previous collaborations and explorations, the project aims to cultivate new imaginaries by integrating advanced crumpling and pleating techniques. By expanding reflections to encompass various life forms, including plants, fungi, bacteria, and minerals, the artist endeavors to foster a sensitive perception of belonging to the natural world while addressing sustainability challenges.

The overarching goal of the residency is to deepen the research on organic/technologic hybrids and explore new aesthetic possibilities through advanced folding techniques. By refining existing projects, Dewi aims to not only optimise technical capabilities but also reimagine exhibition spaces for enhanced viewer engagement. Furthermore, the residency serves as a platform to investigate the potential of biobased materials in addressing ecological concerns while bridging the gap between art and science.

Partners

FARI is an independent and not-for-profit initiative that studies, develops, and fosters the adoption and governance of Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics technologies in an inclusive, ethical and sustainable way. Opened this year, this institute brings together world-leading researchers and experts in those fields to meet challenges at local level.

The newly founded Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies – BrIAS, aims to expand upon the mission of other IASes as an incubator of ideas and research by focusing on current and urgent themes with a great societal impact. Located in the heart of Brussels, it aims to attract the very best scientists, artists or designers, coming from various fields or countries and with no philosophical or political restriction, and provide the opportunity to work in an atmosphere of complete freedom, collaboration, mutual emulation and cross-fertilisation. In this context, BrIAS aims to facilitate collaborations with countries facing critical challenges pertaining to sustainability.

For its 2024 edition, BrIAS has chosen the theme of sustainable robotics with the aim of exploring how robots and automated devices can contribute to sustainability in a world where they are becoming increasingly present.

International robotics specialists and experts from various fields are invited to Brussels on several occasions between January and May 2024 to discuss how robotics can contribute to facing the worldwide challenges identified by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as poverty, inequality and climate change. Particular attention will be paid to issues relating to health, food and agriculture, peacekeeping, sustainable production and the management of electronic waste, as well as those relating to social inclusion, particularly through social robots.

Find out more about the theme

🔗 BrIAS programme
🔗 Sustainable Robotics
🔗 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

Laboratories involved in the project

🔗 SMIT VUB (Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology)
🔗 SAAS ULB (Department of Control Engineering and System Analysis)
🔗 FARI ULB/VUB
🔗 R&MM VUB (Robotics & Multibody Mechanics Research Group)
🔗 BruBotics VUV (Brussels Human Robotics Research Center

Jury Members

Raoul Sommeillier is an engineer, cultural entrepreneur, scientific researcher and music label manager. His background and career reflect a need to cross-fertilise his diverse passions and a deep desire to break down the boundaries between disciplines. He holds a double master’s degree in engineering specialising in mechatronics, an advanced master’s degree in technological and industrial management, and a doctorate in applied science didactics. His research focuses on scientific preconceptions that act as barriers to learning and on strategies for overcoming these preconceptions. As a practitioner-researcher and FNRS Wernaers fellow specialising in science communication and popularisation, his exploratory and action research also focuses on collaborative methodologies, transdisciplinary interactions and the integration of art and design in raising awareness of science, research and technology. Raoul is co-founder of Ohme, and is responsible for Ohme Academia department, which develops academic projects in collaboration with art schools and universities, and for Ohme Lab department, which uses scientific and technical R&D as a driving force for artistic creation. He is also manager of the electronic music producer OTON and their label Alliance Club.

Camilla Colombo is a curator and producer whose practice focuses on arts and sciences.

She curated exhibitions in collaboration with the Museum of Ixelles, at BOZAR, PILAR and iMal in Brussels, and she collaborated with z33 (Hasselt) and Atelier LUMA in Arles.

With a background in the performing arts and in advocacy for the arts at the European level, Camilla worked in Italy, the UK, and Belgium. Interested in hybridisation and crossing of disciplines, she served in art organisations of all sizes as well as with independent artists, focusing on multidisciplinary and multimedia productions.

Since 2016 she is based in Brussels where she began merging her multilayered experiences in her curatorial practice.

She is Ohme co-founder, artistic director and curator. She also initiated Culture Solutions, an independent non-for-profit, bottom-up social innovation group contributing to the excellence of EU international cultural relations policies.

In 2019 she co-founded SALOON Brussels, a network for women working in the art scene of the Belgian capital.

Carl Mörch is co-director of FARI – AI for the Common Good Institute (ULB-VUB) and a member of the AI Ethics & Law Board of the Federal initiative AI4Belgium. He is also a member of the Ethics Special Interest Group of CLAIRE and a co-chair of CLAIRE Brussels office.

Carl aims at fostering high-quality applied projects related to AI, Data and Robotics that could serve the Brussels Region and its inhabitants. With FARI, he wants to support initiatives that can reinforce education around these technologies, and could help bridge the gap with civil society.

He was in 2020-2021 a postdoctoral fellow at the Université de Montréal and Mila – Québec artificial Intelligence Institute. He was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship by the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies (OBVIA) in 2020. He is also a lecturer and adjunct professor at UQÀM (Montréal, Canada).

His personal research work is oriented towards the concrete application of high-level ethical principles in applied domains. He is interested in the responsible development of technologies in society, with a keen accent on health care.

With a background in artistic direction, Juliette Bibasse has a taste for simple and stripped down aesthetics.

Since 2009, she has been applying her skills to the digital art scene, creating connections and opportunities between artists, festivals and cultural actors.

After ten years as an artist’s producer, collaborating on a wide range of projects with many international artists, she became an independent curator and co-director of Studio Joanie Lemercier.

In 2019 & 2020, she was the international curator for STRP festival in Eindhoven.

Since 2020 she is curating a light parcours for the city of Leuven in Belgium, taking place in various heritage venues. In 2023-2024 she is guest curator for LLUM, Barcelona light festival.

Based in Belgium since 2013, she has been an active member of The Federation Wallonia-Brussels’ digital arts scene and is currently vice president of the digital art funding commission.

In 2019 she co-founded SALOON Brussels, an international network for women working in the art scenes.

She is a member of the French network for hybrid arts and digital cultures HACNUM.

Frank Deconinck is director of BrIAS for the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He is Professor em. of Medical Physics at VUB. He was research associate at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) and researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

His main research domain was medical imaging and image processing, with a particular emphasis on nuclear scintigraphy and magnetic resonance imaging.

In the nuclear field, he is Honorary Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) and the European Nuclear Society. He coordinates Rad4Med.be, network representing the Belgian expertise in nuclear science and technology applications for healthcare.

In the socio-cultural field he organised, together with Mrs. Deconinck-De Ries, the exhibition ‘Tactile Graphic Art’, accessible by blind and visually impaired persons. The project was selected in 1989 by UNESCO for the U.N. World decade for cultural development.

Lynn Tytgat is visiting professor and coordinator of weKONEKT.brussels, an initiative in which the Vrije

Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) actively contribute to the development of a free, connected and resilient urban community. In this context, Lynn works together closely with the art scene and the diplomatic world to enforce the synergies between education, science and art. Among other things, she is the driving force behind Mindblowers and Homo Roboticus.

Lynn Tytgat studied Literature and Theater Studies and International and European Law at the VUB. She also followed an advanced management course at Solvay Brussels School. Lynn built out her diplomatic and international career in New York, Paris and Brussels, where she amongst others worked for UNESCO, United Nations University and the permanent representation of Belgium at the United Nations.

Today, she works for the Strategy and Policy Unit of the VUB. Lynn is a Belgium’s 40 under 40 Fellow and serves on several boards of directors such as Ancienne Belgique, Cinematek, MAD Brussels and Brusseleir.

Project Partners

This programme is organised thanks to the support of Innoviris and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Colorillon | Adrien Lucca

Colorillon explores the connection between sound, light and movement. This relationship allows the instrument created, a carillon made up of 8 hollow aluminium tubes, to change appearance and colour on its own, depending on the sound it produces.

Each tube of the carillon has been calibrated according to a resonance formula. It is then struck by percussion solenoids. This system produces a whole range of sounds. A real-time sound capture, acquisition and analysis system then takes over, identifying the events and frequencies of the sounds produced by the carillon.

The result is sound characteristics such as volume modulations, percussive or harmonic content, or frequency beat, all of which are used to drive hyperspectral lamps developed by Adrien Lucca. These devices use subtle modifications to the spectral content of the light to change the colour of objects without changing the perceived colour of the light beam.

These lamps are controlled by a nanocomputer that transforms the sound characteristics into light spectrum control signals, creating dynamic transitions in the colour gamut and thus changing the appearance of the instrument.

CREDITS :

Conception: Adrien Lucca, Ohme
Light synthesiser and programmed painting: Adrien Lucca
Engineering and technical development: François Bronchart, Raoul Sommeillier, Loïc Vanhecke (Ohme Lab)
Mechanical structure : Mathieu Zurstrassen
Co-production : Ohme and Studio Adrien Lucca

Presented at:
The Colour Shifts, LaVallée (Brussels) – 02.02 > 02.03.2024

Co-produced by Ohme in the framework of Ohme’s artistic residencies programme, supported by Innoviris and the Commission Arts Numériques de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Isocenter | Frederik Vanhoutte

Isocenter is a research project by artist Frederik Vanhoutte based on his work as a radiotherapy physicist at the University Hospital in Gent (BE).

Isocenter seeks to explore the apparent paradox inherent in modern medicine – a fusion of individualised, compassionate care with the cutting-edge precision of technology, all aimed at healing and preserving the sanctity of life.

Drawing from the choreography made by the radiotherapy machine during the treatments, Frederik shift the medium to using a plotter drawing machine with ink on paper. Treatment is replaced by expression, radiation delivery machine replaced by a mechanical drawing device. Care and art, two very human activities, envisioned by people, entrusted to machines.

The project gets its name from the context of radiotherapy. The isocenter is a precisely defined point within the patient’s body, determined by imaging and treatment planning goals. It serves as the reference point where multiple radiation beams intersect with high accuracy during the delivery of radiation therapy. This intersection ensures that the maximum radiation dose is concentrated precisely at the intended target, typically a tumor, while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues. The isocenter’s precise coordinates are essential for treatment planning and the accurate administration of therapeutic radiation.

The medium and materiality of the work is intentionally chosen to extend beyond a mere technical representation of motion and intensity. Although the precision and clarity of technical pens have their place, brush and ink add a greater quality to the otherwise cold data. Sensitive to the fiber and the warp of the paper, responding to each minor disturbance, the process of expression now incorporates material interaction, reality and humanity.

Exhibition ISOCENTER

A point in space. A focus, a center around which it all spins: the attention, the care, the time, the knowledge, the technology.

There are places, sealed rooms hidden at the end of long corridors, where this point in space is called isocenter, the precise spot through which a beam of radiation passes in an accurate choreography of machine movements. At the center is the human body, in its complexity and in its fragility, to be taken care of, to be healed, to be respected.

It is from these places, physical and conceptual, that this exhibition borrows its title.

ISOCENTER is composed of plotter drawings by Frederik Vanhoutte based on his work as a radiotherapy physicist at Ghent University Hospital, and developed as part of Ohme’s programme of support to artistic research, along with Philippe Braquenier’s photographs, taken during a series of visits to the hospital’s radiotherapy centre.

The plotter drawings are based on data from patient radiotherapy treatments, reinterpreted and transposed on paper intentionally chosen to extend beyond the mere technical representation of motion and intensity. By applying the ink with fine brushes, the precise movements of the machine creates soft blurs among otherwise meticulous lines. Sensitive to the fiber and the warp of the paper, responding to each minor disturbance, the process of expression incorporates unexpected material interactions.

At the frontiers between documentary and conceptual, the photographs punctuate the exhibition bringing in unique views of the physical space in which radiotherapy is performed. The gaze lands upon a suspended atmosphere, almost out of time, where objects turn unrecognisable, and cutting-edge machines stand dormants recalling the sophistication of man made technology.

The lingering light pulls the images in a swing between the sculptural and the architectural, the factual and the imaginative, almost as a guide through an inaccessible space.

In a dialogue between art and science, abstract representation and photography, this exhibition aims at offering a sensitive glimpse into a practice, the one of oncological radiotherapy, that pushes the boundaries of technology at the service of personalised healthcare.

Opening Hours

3 – 19 November 2023
Wednesday to Friday, from 2pm to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday, from 11am to 7pm

Free entry

PUBLIC EVENT – Thursday 9.11.2023

– 18:00 Kult XL Ateliers – Rue Wiertz 23, 1050 Ixelles
Guided visit of the exhibition
with artist Frederik Vanhoutte and Philippe Braquenier, and curator Camilla Colombo.

– 19:00 Espace Lumen – Chaussée de Boondael 36, 1050 Ixelles
Talks & Drinks
Frederik Vanhoutte, artist and radiotherapy physicist: “Materiality, the connection between patient, data and expression”
Prof. Dr. Yolande Lievens, head of the department of radiotherapy-oncology UZ Gent : “Art in radiotherapy”

CREDITS :

Plotter drawings : Frederik Vanhoutte
Research : Frederik Vanhoutte
Photos: Philippe Braquenier 
Produced by OHME

Presented at: Kult XL Ateliers, 3 – 19 November 2023

Vernissage: Thursday 2 November 2023, 18:00 – 21:00
Symposium : Thursday 9 November 2023 19:00 – 22:00

Curation: Camilla Colombo
Production: Ohme
Art Handling: Jean Pierre Bertrand
Photo printing: Laboriver, Jo & Z Lab
Framing: Bernard Wéber
Construction: Aiko Design
Exhibition views: Silvia Cappellari

Isocenter has been produced thanks to the support the Digital Arts Commission of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

It is produced by Ohme in the framework of Ohme’s artistic residencies programme, supported by Innoviris and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Monochromes | Yannick Jacquet & Otto Lindholm

Monochromes is a hybrid project at the intersection of music, light and colour, a collaboration between visual artist Yannick Jacquet and composer/double bassist Otto Lindholm.

At the heart of Monochromes is a series of 12 unique compositions for double bass and looper, each lasting a fixed 5 minutes. Each composition focuses on a specific note of the musical scale, to which is freely associated a luminous hue, thought of as a sound colour. The result is a chromatic alphabet – the 12 semitones of Western music – that questions our relationship with representations.

Inspired by EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a cognitive therapy using eye movements) techniques, the artists weave a dialogue between music, colour and light, exploring their influences on our mental state. Monochromes invites to slow down and take in the sensations that can emerge from its coloured circular stimuli.

The main installation, formed by an ellipse of screens, presents six of the twelve sound monochromes. The artists are also seeking to manipulate colour more precisely and work with it in greater depth. Here, they are exhibiting an initial prototype of this research in an isolated monolith.

CREDITS :

Conception, design and production : Yannick Jacquet, Otto Lindholm
Visual composition : Yannick Jacquet
Sound composition: Otto Lindholm 
Sound engineer: Fabien Leseure

Presented at:
Museum Night Fever at Halles St Géry, 21 Octobre 2023

The Colour Shifts at LaVallée, 03 February – 02 March 2024

Monochromes has been produced thanks to the support the Digital Arts Commission of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

It is co-produced by Ohme in the framework of Ohme’s artistic residencies programme, supported by Innoviris and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

An eye is an eye is an eye is…

In the animal world there is an infinite variety of eyes and vision systems, some capable of distinguishing types of light invisible to the human eye, while others can only see in black and white; still others can detect prey running miles away, while others struggle to distinguish their immediate environment accurately or are only sensitive to movement. So each species develops a visual interface with reality that is perfectly suited to its survival.
But how do machines look at us, at a time when the proliferation of cameras in an ever-increasing variety of devices is associated with the rapid development of computer vision, commonly known as ‘computer vision’?

Computer vision is an artificial intelligence technique for analysing images captured by equipment such as cameras. For many, computer vision is the AI equivalent of the human eye and our brain’s ability to process and analyse perceived images.
The neural networks generated by computer vision algorithms learn to link language and the world together, and as they learn they create identifiable patterns, areas of interest in images, and a whole series of criteria and characteristics that enable them to understand the world passing before their eyes.

The installation An eye is an eye is an eye is an eye hijacks the images generated by these ‘observing’ machines to turn them into the medium of a visual and poetic narrative, written in real time, questioning our ability to make sense of the visible, our perception of reality and our relationship to the imaginary.

Damien Petitot, An eye is an eye is an eye is an eye, video still, 2023

CREDITS:

Conception, direction : Damien Petitot
Computer vision : François Bronchard
Co-Produced by OHME

Presented at :
FARI AI For the Common Good Institute | 4 – 12 July 2023 | Brussels
FARI Brussels Conference: Local & Sustainable AI, Data, and Robotics | 11 – 12 September 2023 | Bozar, Brussels

An eye is an eye is an eye is an eye has been produced thanks to the support the Digital Arts Commission of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

It is co-produced by Ohme in the framework of Ohme’s artistic residencies programme, supported by Innoviris and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and presented by Ohme with the support of FARI Ai For the Common Good Institute.

Artists in residency 2022-2023

In 2022 / 2023 we are kicking off our yearly programme to support research, residency, co-production and mediation of artistic projects linking art, science and technology.

This programme allows us to support contemporary creation in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and to participate in the transmission of scientific and technological knowledge in the Brussels Region.

Each artist receives a personalised support, ranging from meeting and exchange with scientists, access to Ohme spaces and lab to work for short residencies, financial participation in research projects, technical research and development by Ohme Lab and the creation of a tailored artistic and scientific mediation.

While there is no obligation to the production of a final work, we invite the artists to participate in a public presentation of their project, focusing on their research – whether in progress or concluded – and to raise awareness of scientific topics and technologies. These events will take place between spring and autumn 2023.

For this first edition, we have selected 6 artists to work with, putting our skills and competences at the service of their creation, on an intermittent basis, for a period of 1 year. The artists with whom we have the pleasure of working are Damien Petitot, Studio Adrien Lucca, Laura Colmenares Guerra, Frederik Vanhoutte, Yannick Jacquet and Otto Lindholm.

Stay tuned for more info !

PROJECT PARTNERS

This programme is organised thanks to the support of

the Digital Arts Commission of Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Innoviris