EDEN Stories season 4 – NO SIGNAL
CEGZ, 2023 – in progress
Paintings on canvas and drawings in variable format
Installation
→ Intention
→ Le projet Eden Stories
Statement
For season 4, CEGZ is producing a series of paintings and drawings based on sexcam models (people who display their bodies in real time on web platforms for a fee). Some of these models show off by playing with a connected sextoy, which web platform users can remotely control by paying.
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, elements of the decor of the sex camming rooms, or devices (sextoy, power cables, etc.). Other paintings and drawings depict cats and dogs from the world of the Internet.
The devices mobilized in this universe (from connected objects to smartphones and webcams, via A.I.) give rise to images with unique characteristics (framing, shortcuts, shapes, lights, colors, lettering, etc.).
At times, EDEN seeks to move out of the picture, in the same way that it went from Minitel to Blockchains, from Blockchains to galleries, from galleries to Venice, from Venice to photo and video, from the Web to painting. He aspires to 3D, to augmented reality. CEGZ accompanies him in this process. In the installation, some of the paintings in which he appears are illuminated by an unconnected video projector mounted on a tripod.
The projector’s default blue light reveals certain features and reinforces contrasts. In passing, the projector is a nod to sex camming. But this time, the connection and transport fail. The inscription “NO SIGNAL” runs across the canvas, hence the title of the season.
EDEN Stories season 4 – NO SIGNAL Studio view – 2024 – Acrylic, charcoal and graphite on canvas
146×89 cm, 40×30 cm, 10×18 cm.
EDEN Stories season 4 – NO SIGNAL – Lighting by video projector – Studio views – 2024