Forteresse des droits de l’homme

Tatsuo Miyajima (Tokyo, Japan, 1957)
Collection : Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain (FCAC)

Since the 1980s, Tatsuo Miyajima’s work has developed around the repeated use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Using digital counters that consist of these diodes and are controlled by computer programs, Miyajima creates technologically polished works that have complex symbolic meaning. On each of the tilted faces of the raw, concrete façade of Uni Dufour, these counters present an almost infinite stream of numbers. The red and green diodes illuminate according to different temporalities, producing a succession of numbers from one to nine in a continuous movement that composes a symphony of individual rhythms. To decide the order in which these figures would appear, during one of his performances, the artist asked 222 randomly selected Genevans to choose how quickly the counters would run in order that the building’s façade would be punctuated by 222 different beats. Miyajima sees these beats as representative of the idea of constant change, passing time, perpetual repetition. He also seeks to stress the possibility of harmony and communication between individuals, just as these luminous computers are able to live side by side while remaining different. For this work, Miyajima was inspired by the importance of the university as a place of learning and encounters, and by Geneva, the city of human rights.
Article commissioned by P3Art
Notice: Séverine Fromaigeat, translation: Matthew Cunningham