EDEN Stories – season 4 – NO SIGNAL
2023 – in progress
Paintings on canvas and drawings
Variable formats, acrylics, charcoal, graphite on canvas and other mixed media
Installations
Variable formats, media and techniques
Description
But where have the collectors gone? EDEN continues their media-technical journey, metamorphosing into cam models (persons who display their body in real time, sometimes playing with a connected sextoy, on web platforms in return for payment) while taking the form of paintings and drawings.
Season 4 comprises several episodes, plus a large number of spin-offs, making-of and pilots. Each episode is made up of several paintings, featuring EDEN as well as elements from the decor of the sex camming rooms and technical equipment (sextoys, power cables, etc.). Other paintings and drawings depict cats and dogs from the world of the Internet. It’s not uncommon to see pets in camming rooms.
The devices used in this universe (from connected objects to smartphones and webcams, via various filters and artificial intelligence models) give rise to images with unique characteristics (framing, shortcuts, shapes, lights, colours, letterings, etc.). The paintings reflect these elements, while at the same time engaging in a dialogue with modern and contemporary painting.
In the installation, some of the paintings are illuminated by the default blue light of an unconnected video projector mounted on a tripod. It reveals certain features and reinforces contrasts. The video projector is also a nod to sex camming cameras. But this time, the connection fails. The inscription NO SIGNAL runs across the canvas, hence the title of the season.
By the end of the season, EDEN is looking for a way out of the painting in the same way that they went from Minitel to blockchains, from blockchains to galleries, from galleries to Venice, from Venice to photography and video, from the Web to painting. Their research leads them towards online art sales platforms… (To be continued).
(2024) – Acrylic, charcoal and graphite on canvas, 40x30cm / 10x18cm / 146x89cm
