Our mind is a real ecosystem. Our thoughts, our feelings, our memories live deep inside us like in an ocean: between the light of the surface and the night of the sea bed. This installation proposes to discover these worlds through a system of virtual and interactive aquariums. The different imaginary species live in real time in front of the visitor and according to rules borrowed from the living, as would a real fauna and flora.

During this residency at iMAL, Christophe will focus on the creation of a specific aquarium called "Memoria Echinus" which addresses the question of the impermanence of memory and thus dispel the idea that a memory is a fixed and eternal image of the past. Later in the year, various other aquariums will be created, linking emotion and memories.

The ecosystems within us, like the ecosystems in nature, are fragile and deserve our attention. This project evokes the themes of biodiversity, mental well-being, and degenerative memory diseases.

Christophe Monchalin is an artist based in Brussels. Graduate engineer in computer science and robotics, he develops his work through visual, interactive and immersive arts. His artistic research explores mainly human emotions and behaviours as well as nature and its phenomena. In parallel, he studied Chinese medicine in China and he is a graduate acupuncturist from Beijing academy of Chinese Medicine. All of these experiences feed his artistic approach.

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Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
iMAL - Art Center for Digital Cultures & Technology