Since the enthusiastic adoption of electronic technologies that characterised the electronic and new media art scene in the 1990s, several factors have crept in that changed the game for good and continue to do so. Open source technologies and the related ecosystem of forums, tutorials and downloadable knowledge is one. Another one is the increasingly heavy presence of climate crisis in all aspects of civilisation including the arts. Paul Granjon will will give an overview of his trajectory, from enthusiasm for early robotic art to contemplating the joys and challenges of off-grid living as an art practice.
Paul Granjon is interested in the co-evolution of humans and machines, imagining solutions for alternative futures and sharing his experience of creative technologies. He has been making robots and other machines for exhibitions and performances since 1996. Granjon’s work became known for a trademark combination of humour and serious questions, delivered with absurd machines that made use of recycled components. His Sexed Robots were exhibited in the Welsh Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2005. He performs and exhibits internationally. He regularly delivers Wrekshops, public events where participants are invited to take apart electronic waste and build temporary new machines from the bits they find. Granjon’s current work is driven by an ecologist, low-tech and participatory agenda. He teaches Fine-Art in Cardiff School of Art and Design, UK.