Paul Vivien creates a world where digital technologies, living forms and science-fiction narratives converge. Based in Rennes, the artist explores the creative possibilities offered by hacking, repurposing and reusing existing technologies. Paul Vivien’s creations draw inspiration from a variety of sources: animal behaviour, natural phenomena, low-tech design and the aesthetics of fairground arts. His installations give physical form to imaginative concepts originally conceived in the digital realm, which he brings to life through light, sound and video.
Drawing equally on design and digital cultures, Paul Vivien is interested in the relationships between living beings, machines and their environment. His work explores in particular the future of artificial intelligence and its place in tomorrow’s world. What would become of them if it achieved true autonomy? Could it form a new life form, endowed with its own behaviours and capable of evolving alongside other species?
Contrary to the dystopian visions often associated with artificial intelligence, the artist imagines digital entities integrated into natural balance, capable of cooperating with their environment rather than dominating it. Blending technological foresight, visual poetry and ecological consideration, his works sketch out new narratives where ingenuity and life coexist.
Paul Vivien comes out with a body of work that he exhibited at venues such as the Palace of Versailles, the Palais de Tokyo, MUTEK Montréal and the Mapping Festival. It combines technical experimentation with the imagination, exploring our coexistence with technology. For Maintenant 2026, he is presenting L’Harmonie De Notre Absence at the Théâtre du Vieux St-Étienne.
