About my work
I am interested in art as a practice that seeks to free itself as best it can from the functional and utilitarian constraints exerted by the environment in which it evolves. My work generally takes the form of media and robotic installations and performances. It is transdisciplinary and aims to engage a dialogue with the actors and audiences of the social environments in which I am situated, in order to foster the collective development of a critique of the cultural and technical determinants that characterize our epoch.
The propositions I make explore the relationships established between humans, their environment and the mediatization of the latter within a technological apparatus. A second axis of research focuses on the deprogramming of perceptions, or the deconstruction of artifactual systems now pervading all fields of human and non-human activity, such as social applications and media, A.I., agro-informatics and so on. Here again, the exploration of technological and media means becomes an integral part of the work I produce.
Finally, I’m particularly interested in the subtractive effects of technology and media on the human experience, in opposition to the dominant paradigms of innovation (for example, in telematics or augmented reality devices). My artworks engage the spectator within the realm of perceived reality, the former at times even being absorbed by the work, to the point of being its very condition of existence.
Bio
Simon Laroche is an artist who produces trans-disciplinary works. These comprise robotics, electronics, video, audio and performance elements, and integrate computer programming, technology and social codification. He has developed a critical and experimental approach to the hybridization of artificial, biological and social systems, questioning the impact of technology on the construction of social and psychological realities.
Since 2003, Simon has presented audiovisual performances, interactive installations, robotic, body-art and video works, as well as participatory pieces at major festivals, biennales and museums (Ars Electronica, ISEA, Elektra/BIAN, la Villette, MACM, Némo, Wro, FILE, etc.) in Paris, London, Brussels, Budapest, Leipzig and elsewhere in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.
Simon has been teaching electronic arts in the Intermedia program at Concordia University since 2003. He collaborates with a number of researchers and artists, notably in dance, theater, fashion design and film. Involved in various communities, Simon has sat on the boards of several cultural, educational, social and economic development organizations.
Simon Laroche is co-founder and artist of the Projet EVA collective.