Némo—International Biennial of Digital Arts

We would like to invite you to Némo–International Biennial of Digital Arts of the Ile-de-France Region taking place from October 9th, 2021, to January 9th, 2022.

Dedicated to digital arts, audiovisual performances, live shows in connection with new technologies, and the relationship between arts and sciences, Némo presents exhibitions, shows, performances, concerts and lectures in venues spanning the Ile-de-France region for three months. For this 4th edition, the Biennale Némo explores a new theme: Beyond reality? Revealing the invisible through digital arts, sciences and technology.

Némo will present nearly 80 events bringing together artists in more than 30 partner venues, irrigating the whole Ile-de-France region with concerts, exhibitions, shows, performances, meetings, and conferences, for all audiences.

In October (October 9th to November 8th), a series dedicated to the visual arts begins with the opening of the Biennial’s central exhibition at the Centquatre-Paris Beyond reality? which is a precipitate of its main focus: revealing the invisible through digital arts, science and technology. Paired with the opening of its main exhibition is an explosive evening event featuring a stunning cast of characters, from a ballet of machines at the pinnacle of audiovisual performance to artists such as Ryoichi Kurokawa and Max Cooper. The 9th of November marks the large-scale launch of Exploring the Invisible (November 9th to December 2nd), the momentous arts and sciences series at Némo 2021, featuring music theatre, installations, an exhibition, a debate, and a trail of artworks. The performing arts series (December 3rd to January 9th) kicks off with an edition of Le Grand Soir Numérique, a momentous evening of multidisciplinary performances. This year, Franck Vigroux, Kurt d’Haeseleer and the Italian group SCHNITT have new sounds and images in store, and will even use audience interaction as an audiovisual instrument!

Némo–International Biennial of Digital Arts

Where?
16 different towns in the Île-de-France region

When?
October 9th, 2021, to January 9th, 2022

Find out more about the event here, get information about the program here.

Permanent Data by Jeroen van Loon

One work that will be shown during the Biennial in Paris is the work Permanent Data (2020) by Dutch artist Jeroen van Loon from October 10th, 2021, to January 2nd, 2022. It is an installation showing a single twelve kilometers long fibre optic cable on which the entire Gutenberg Bible is printed, combined with scrapped YouTube comments on topics such as bitrot and data loss.

Both text sources come from a medium that, in their time, revolutionized the way information was accessed, shared and used. Now they’re connected through the question of how information survives. Physical paper is deemed a long lasting source of information, if stored in the right way. Digital storage, through cloud systems and hard drives, is thought of as future prove but at the same time extremely fleeting. What of YouTube is accessible in 500 years?

Normally a fibre optic cable is only used as infrastructure to transmit data. However, the physical cable itself might very well outlast the data it transmits. Permanent Data therefore becomes an artefact combining the ephemeral nature of digital data and the durability of physical information and perhaps offers a solution on how to prevent a digital dark age.

Permanent Data

Artist: Jeroen van Loon
Printing: De Koningh
Photos: Gert Jan van Roij
Cable manufactured by Twentsche Kabelfabriek
The work was made possible with the support of Utrecht Down Under, Mondriaanfonds, and Fonds21.