Nicolas Grenier
Les voix
about
Nicolas Grenier (b. 1982) is a graduate of Concordia University and the California Institute of the Arts. His research and work explore notions of paradigm shift and transformation of the social order. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton), The Power Plant (Toronto), the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Commonwealth & Council (Los Angeles), the Bruges Triennial of Art and Architecture (Belgium) and Union Gallery (London), among others. He received the Prix Pierre Ayot in 2016 and was a finalist for the 2019 Sobey Art Award. Nicolas Grenier is represented by the Bradley Ertaskiran and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles galleries.
The work Les voix explores the gray area between human and machine, mind and body, language and meaning. The work confronts us with the following question: when an AI speaks, whose voice is it? Les voix challenges us to explore the complexity of this question in an immersive environment, where the public can interact with a Large Language Model (AI) through a human interface. This interface, consisting of an interpreter whose voice and body incarnate a text generated by the AI, then becomes an ambiguous dual entity, with which the audience is invited to engage in a face-to-face conversation. Thus, the digital interface that characterizes our interactions with virtual assistants and other AIs is here transformed into an interpersonal exchange, confronting us with the embodied presence of a non-human intelligence. Following the interaction, audiences are encouraged to stay in the space, leave a comment, observe subsequent conversations, and discuss with other audience members their respective experiences. At the heart of Les Voix is the creation of a space in which audiences, regardless of their experience of art or technology, are able to consider together one of the most striking and paradigm-shifting digital innovations in recent history.