Andrée-Anne Roussel Speculative Creatures
© Andrée-Anne Roussel, image tirée de l’installation Speculative Creatures, 2023
The video installation Speculative Creatures examines the place of intuition, prediction and speculation in the worlds of finance, spirituality and machine learning. The evolving narrative structure of the work is generated by a probability tool based on Markov chains. Using computer code, the order of the installation's multiple audio sequences differs from time to time, generating constantly renewed associations of ideas.
Roussel had the opportunity to shoot her project in Manhattan as part of the CALQ - Studio du Québec à New York residency, from August 2022 to January 2023. The artist interviewed and filmed people from a wide variety of backgrounds: financial forecasts, trend predictions, people working in the field of AI, mediums and clairvoyants (from different spiritual practices). The various testimonials, in voice-over, create a mosaic of viewpoints around the themes addressed.
In its current form, the project comprises 75 audio files, equivalent to around 2 hours of content. A contemplative double projection illustrates the multiple forecasting methods discussed during the interviews. On a flat screen, a program performs a real-time analysis of the installation's audio content, generating clairvoyant-like predictions from the data collected. To improve accessibility, a French subtitling system is displayed on another flat screen, synchronized with the generative order of the Markov chains.
Credits Speculative Creatures
Participants
Alejandro Di Luca
Allison Parrish
Crystal Gayle Luther
David Williams, filmmaker
Dr. Martin Zeckra, Bensberg Seismic Station, University of Cologne
François Delorme, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Université de Sherbrooke
Ken Ngwa
Laurence Allaire Jean, Volatility Adventurer
Laurent Chevallier
Lydia Caldana, Foresight Strategist
Nèg Mawon
Viki Han, Cosmic Shaman
Veronica VanCauwenberghe
Contributors
Programming - Jason Gendreau
Music - Samuel Gougoux
Sound mixing - Emilie Ruiz
Colorization - William Albu
Translation and subtitles - T&S coop
Financed by
CALQ
With the support of
Prim
Art Partage
Thanks
Mériol Lehmann
Radhanath Gagnon
Karine Brudi-Bilyk
Jean-Pierre Dion
The Quebec Delegation in New York
Daniel Cherubin
Noha Chouckrallah
Sarah Mannering
Fanny Drew
Geneviève Dulude-De Celles
Marie-Pierre Grenier
Mathieu Bédard
Dr. Pablo D. Herrera Veitia
Maria Luiza de Barros
Nick Montfort
Mahalia Stines
Yves Nazon
Ulysses Pascal
Umberto Jean-Louis
Sumedha
Kaveh Nabatian
Nèg Mawon
My family
All the participants for their generosity and openness
© Andrée-Anne Roussel, image tirée de l’installation Speculative Creatures, 2023
Andrée-Anne Roussel is a filmmaker and new media artist. Working primarily with video, her projects take the form of immersive installations and sensory films. Her artistic approach is intrinsically linked to her desire to understand the world around her. She is interested in the invisible forces that shape our universe and influence our experiences. As a result, her projects address philosophical and spiritual questions that are at the heart of the human condition, and often establish links between different, even opposing, ways of seeing the world. Her work has been presented at the Sapporo International Short Film Festival, the São Paulo International Short Film Festival and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
