Basic Info

Name: Joanie Lemercier
Country of Origin: FR
Website: https://joanielemercier.com

Description

Biography and photograph are courtesy of the artist’s website:
“Joanie Lemercier (b. 1982) is a French visual artist and environmental activist whose work explores human perception through the manipulation of light in space. Working primarily with light projection and computer programming, Lemercier transforms the appearance of everyday objects and forms, bending reality to his imagination. His work transcends the flat surface, extending dimensionality through the interplay of light and shadow on materials such as wood, glass, paper, ceramics, textiles and water. Lemercier was first introduced to the process of creating art on a computer at age five by attending classes on pattern design for fabrics that were taught by his mother. This early education grounded his interest in physical structures: geometry, patterns, and minimalist forms. As Lemercier’s work evolved, he began to explore these elements through the physics and philosophy of how light can be used to alter perceived reality.

Much of Lemercier’s practice is inspired by nature and reflects on the representation of the natural world through mathematics, science, and technology. Abstract environments rendered as refined grids, lines, shadows, and volumes give way to majestic landscapes assembled from these same minimalist forms. In recent years, Lemercier has become increasingly concerned with climate change and environmental degradation, lending his projection skills and artistry to activist causes and groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Les Soulèvements de la Terre, Ende Gelände, meticulously tracking and publishing his studio’s carbon footprint, and supporting initiatives like #CleanNFT to encourage other digital artists to reduce their own environmental impact. His latest video installation, Slow Violence, premiered at Fundación Telefónica in 2021 on the occasion of the artist’s first major solo show, looks at the devastating effects of coal mining on one of Europe’s oldest forests.

Lemercier has been working with projected light since 2005 and co-founded the acclaimed visual label AntiVJ with artists Yannick Jacquet, Romain Tardy and Olivier Ratsi in 2006. He has been represented by a New York based gallery since 2010. Focusing his practice on installations and gallery work, he has been exhibited around the globe in institutions such as the China Museum of Digital Art in Beijing, Art Basel Miami, Sundance Film Festival, Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid. He collaborates with several sound artists: Murcof, Flying Lotus, JayZ, Before Tigers, Thomas Vaquié, …
Since founding his creative studio in Brussels in 2013, Lemercier has been developing ever more ambitious installations, gallery pieces, and research experiments that expand the creative possibilities of projected light in space. In recent years, he has sought to completely dematerialize the projection surface, working with transparent materials and water mist.”