New artists for the Simetría residency at CERN and ALMA-ESO

Geneva, 10 November 2020. Today, Arts at CERN is announcing the two awards for the Simetría residency taking place in 2021. The recipients are Chloé Delarue, a Swiss artist based in Geneva, and Patricia Domínguez, a Chilean artist, based in Santiago. They will both complete a joint residency of up to three weeks split between two locations – CERN in Geneva and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomy facilities in Chile: Antofagasta, La Silla and the ALMA observatory (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).

Simetría is organised by Arts at CERN in Geneva and by Corporación Chilena de Video y Artes Electrónicas (CChV) in Chile. It is an artistic residency award created to foster dialogue between art and fundamental science, as well as interdisciplinary exchange between artists and scientists working or living in Switzerland and Chile. One artist from each of the two countries is invited for a dual residency, to research and explore new expressions in connection with fundamental science. The first exchange residency took place in 2019 with the Swiss artist Alan Bogana and the Chilean artist Nicole L’Huillier.

Both Switzerland and Chile are home to some of the most singular scientific instruments in the world, dedicated to understanding the origins and the evolution of the universe. During their residencies, the artists will explore the scientific sites, their extraordinary locations and scale – both laboratories and observatories – to explore new expressions in their artistic practices, and to further develop them into art productions. In this unique exploratory residency, the artists will collaborate with and receive support from scientists and engineers, as well as the staff of the host research facilities.

Born in 1986, Chloé Delarue produces installations (sculpture, video and sound) under the TAFAA acronym, standing for Toward A Fully Automated Appearance, a combination of several installations, which the artist calls “environments”. These environments are elements of the re-composition of a more or less abstract body. Once these elements overlap, they create a sort of spectrum, a material and immaterial flow of information. After a first MAMA degree in 2012 from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art – Villa Arson in Nice, she continued her studies at HEAD-Genève in the Fine Arts Master in 2014.

Patricia Domínguez, born in Chile in 1984, focuses on tracing relationships of work, affection, obligation and emancipation among living species in an increasingly corporate cosmos. Her studies include a Master's degree in Studio Art from Hunter College, New York (2013) and a Certificate in Botanical Illustration and Natural Sciences from the New York Botanical Garden NYBG (2011). She is currently the director of the ethnobotanical platform studying the healing cosmologies of native plants, called Studio Vegetalista.

Arts at CERN is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia in the context of its programme “COINCIDENCIA – Swiss & South American Cultural Exchanges”. Simetría in Chile is supported by ALMA and ESO, the Ministry of Culture, the Arts and Heritage, and UNESCO.

Footnote

ALMA: Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array
NAOJ: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

NRAO: National Radio Astronomy Observatory