Created for the exhibition “Designing the Living” (La fabrique du vivant), Biotope by the artist and composer Jean-Luc Hervé invites the public to penetrate a space transformed by the sound environment: the gallery becomes the cradle of polyphony. The audience suprises a dialogue between individuals from a community of small, invisible “sonic animals” hidden throughout the exhibition space. The musical system is trepid: it reacts to human presence like a living organism that panics or hushes if visitors become too invasive, too many, or too noisy, taking up their song only when calm has returned.

The organic personality of the system reflects the artist’s intention to incite visitors to modify their behavior regarding their environment. Through listening, the visitors’ attention to their surroundings is renewed.

JEAN-LUC HERVÉ BIOTOPE, Premiere 2019
“Fearful” acoustic system for the exhibition “Designing the Living” (La fabrique du vivant), commissioned by IRCAM-Centre Pompidou

IRCAM computer music design Thomas Goepfer
Scientific collaboration Benjamin Matuszewski, Jean-Philippe Lambert (Sound Music Movement Interaction Ircam-STMS)
Prototyping and sound agent fabrication Emmanuel Fléty, Djellal Chalabi and Yann Bouloiseau
Sound engineer Jérémie Bourgogne
Stage Manager Jean-Marc Letang