Zacharie Gauvreau and Victor Imbeau
Montreal, CanadaBiography
Originally from Gatineau, Zacharie Gauvreau is a young multidisciplinary artist pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at Université du Québec à Montréal’s School of Visual and Media Arts. From a very young age, he was fascinated by the customs and aesthetic codes of contemporary subcultures. From the art world to web forums, his work is activated through a personal ethnography that is annexed to new media. In the age of the internet, his work identifies the trickery and aesthetic strategies of capitalism and of the codifications of the art world.
Victor Imbeau is a student in the Bachelor of Visual Arts program at UQÀM. He decided to study visual arts after completing a technical degree in engineering physics. His scientific training shapes his approach to art. The integration of technology, the use of different devices as well as collaboration in creation are essential elements in his work. He favors public space as a place of dissemination because he wishes to open a dialogue with people who do not frequent places dedicated to art.
About the artwork
Two ½ robots (2021)
Two cathode ray televisions face each other. Each one broadcasts the image of a humanoid, who converses with the other. In the center of the cube is a terrace table. A stereophonic system broadcasts the sound of the humanoids’ conversations outside the cube. The two “bots” or artificial intelligence algorithms converse non-stop for the duration of the exhibit. The resulting conversations are as confusing as they are surprising, just like the interactions that can be found on social networks. With the sound of the loudspeakers echoing outside the cube, spectators become witnesses to the communicational hazards generated by the artwork, which proposes an ironic interpretation of the communicational dissonance that is specific to the age of the Web, made even more palpable in pandemic times.
Zacharie Gauvreau and Victor Imbeau began their collaboration at UQÀM. It is fueled by their sometimes ironic, sometimes cynical humor, as well as by the thematic and formal aspects of their respective work. Together, they are interested in our relationship to consumption, to social networks, and to contemporary technology, as well as its impact on our lives.
DISCOVER THE ARTWORK BY THE ARTISTS
Photo : Camille Dubuc