On Thursday, September 17, the exhibition “Zone d’indiscernabilité : Modus Operandi” (Zone of Indiscernibility: Modus Operandi) was officially inaugurated at the Atheneum of the University of Burgundy. A few days later, on Sunday, September 20, the European Heritage Days provided an opportunity to continue the dialogue through a two-voice discussion between artist Em de Korsak and physicist Vincent Boudon (ICB). These two events centered on a single project—born from the ICB’s cross-disciplinary Arts/Design/Science initiative—built upon a collaborative research-creation approach.
An opening to discover the exhibition
The opening event on September 17 introduced the public to the exhibition’s two distinct spaces and the various collaborations between artists and scientists. The first space is dedicated to the work conducted by Em de Korsak alongside Vincent Boudon, Cyril Richard, and Cloë Vautrin—researchers and a science communication/outreach officer at the ICB, respectively. This collaboration was shaped by extensive dialogue, laboratory visits, and experimentation. Scientific imagery, physical phenomena, metalwork, welding, and text all feature in the various pieces displayed at the Atheneum. The goal was not simply to have the artist illustrate scientific research; rather, the artworks are the product of a joint effort in which discussions and experiments between the artist and ICB members played a direct role in the creative process.
The second space is dedicated to PerceptLab, a collective comprising Laurent Karst, Filippo Fabbri, and Kamran Behnia. Their work explores light, its perception, and how a physical phenomenon can be transformed into a sensory experience for the visitor. A highlight here is ZONY, a piece that fully embodies this intersection of scientific experimentation and artistic creation. Through the presented installations, light is no longer merely a phenomenon to be observed or measured; it becomes a material for experimentation, evolving according to each individual’s point of view and perception.
A dialogue for “Heritage Days”
On Sunday, September 20, the public gathered to hear Em de Korsak and Vincent Boudon in a two-person discussion held at the Atheneum as part of the European Heritage Days.
During the session, the artist and the physicist reflected on how they met, their initial conversations, and the various stages that led to the works currently on display in the exhibition.
It was also an opportunity to discuss, in very concrete terms, how an artist and a scientist collaborate: how do they understand each other when they do not necessarily share the same vocabulary? How might a phenomenon studied in the laboratory be perceived differently by an artist? And how can the exchange with the artist, in turn, lead scientists to view their research subjects from a new perspective? These are the very questions at the heart of the co-authored research-creation approach driving this project.
Research-creation at the heart of the ICB’s Arts/Design/Sciences initiative
With Zone d’indiscernabilité: Modus Operandi, the ICB’s cross-disciplinary Arts/Design/Sciences initiative continues the collaborations established between the laboratory and the creative world. The aim is, in particular, to create spaces where artists, designers, and scientists can work together over the long term, experimenting and comparing their respective practices. The opening on September 17 and the meeting on September 20 highlighted two complementary dimensions: the artworks born of these collaborations, and the extensive work, exchanges, and experimentation that precede them.
