Mat Chivers 'Migrations'' - A Public Solo Exhibition at Musée d'art de Joliette Canada

Anima-Mundi are delighted to announce ‘Migrations’, a major solo exhibition by Mat Chivers taking place at Musée d'art de Joliette, Canada, from October 6, 2018 to January 6, 2019

With the advent of artificial intelligence, contemporary society is commencing a major transformation of its relationship to its environment. Over a year ago, the Musée d’art de Joliette invited Mat Chivers for a production residency in Quebec to create a new body of work as a response to the AI scene, which was booming in Montreal. As soon as he arrived, Chivers took to the road to explore the province, which he had never visited before. He followed the Saint-Lawrence River all the way to Tadoussac, then headed inland to the Manicouagan reservoir, where people spoke to him of a peculiar mineral: impactite. This first journey had a decisive effect on the production of his project, which was intrinsically related to the encounters and discussions that inspired him, both on this occasion and on subsequent research-led travels. Collaborations were numerous and essential to preparing the exhibition, which involved the assistance of AI programers, ceramicists, 3D scanning specialists, and professionals in the use of robotic saws for stone-cutting. And yet, this project is interesting less for its technical prowess that for the larger issues it raises: how will developments in artificial intelligence affect our lives, at a base level? How do they help us ascertain and identify that which is essentially human?

Migrations is curated by Jean-François Bélisle et Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre. This exhibition was made possible thanks to the financial and technological support of Element AI, Duchesne Lac-Mégantic, Groupe Omégalpha, USIMM, Concordia University, Figure 55, C2 Montréal, UNTTLD, Marylise Parent, Jean-Daniel Sylvestre, and Jean-François Bouchard.