Dr Paul Granjon

My research is practice-led. With self-made machines that are presented in performances, exhibitions, participatory events and academic publications I explore the relationship between humans and technology, and more specifically the co-evolution of humans and machines. By this I mean the way in which the increasingly sophisticated tools produced by human civilisations are changing our relationship to objects, other beings and our planet as well as our self-perception. I question the validity of a creeping digitization that tends to replace living beings with digital programs and creatures, supporting a society based on economic profit and surveillance.

Over the years my interest in adopting the artifacts produced by the technological spiral has dramatically waned, replaced by more vital issues of resilience and ecological implication. My practice uses less and less new materials and includes more and more moments of shared creation, in a participatory art approach. I firmly believe that a renewed relationship with plant, animal and mineral beings and environments, combined with a radically re-imagined use of technology is a crucial pre-requisite for the continuation of life on earth, an approach recently coined as symbiocene by Glenn Albrecht.

Current research include the design and delivery of participative art activities that combine creative technologies and natural aspects. The events aim to alleviate the impact of eco-anxiety [1] on mental health and to stimulate an ecosophical [2] approach to everyday life. Part of this research involves designing tools that combine low and recycled technology with sustainably sourced low-power solutions for programmable electronics, aiming for a minimal use of new resources. Another aspect involves the integration of plants and soil in the artworks, for example the use of clay and sticks in the making of robots.

1- Eco-anxiety: also known as climate anxiety, "a fairly recent psychological disorder afflicting an increasing number of individuals who worry about the environmental crisis." (Castelloe 2018)

2= Ecosophy: a term coined by Félix Guattari, ecosophy comprises three ecological registers, the environment, social relations and subjectivity that must be addressed together so as to tackle "the dangers that threaten the natural environment of our societies" (Guattari, 1989).

View Paul’s papers and publications on Cardiff Metropolitan University’s DSpace repository.

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4969-1722

Publications

• 'Guido and Am I Robot, a Case Study of Two Artworks Operating in Public Spaces', with Patrick Hénaff and Alain Dutech, in the conference proceedings for the International Conference on Live Interfaces (ICLI), Porto 2018.
• 'This Machine Could Bite: On the Role of Non-Benign Art Robots', in Fiberculture Journal 28, Special Issue on Creative Robotics, 2016.
• 'Coy-B, an Art Robot for Exploring the Ontology of Artificial Creatures', 14th TAROS conference (Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems), publication in Springer Lecture Notes on Artificial Intelligence series, June 2014.
• 'Biting Machine, an Experiment in Human-Machine Interaction', in the conference publishings for the 19th International Symposium on Electronic Art, Sydney 2013.
• 'Performing with Machines and Machines that Perform', in the International Journal for Performance Art and Digital Media, Intellect, 2008.
• 'A Personal History of Art and Technology', book chapter in Hothaus Papers, Gibbons J. and Winwood K. editors, Article Press 2006. 

Exhibitions and art projects (selection)

2020

• Superfreight, Arcade Campfa, Cardiff

2018

Prototipoak, Azkuna Zentroa Gallery, Bilbao Spain

2017

• Art Experiment, Laboratories of Earthly Survival, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art Moscow, Russia

2016

• The Imitation Game, Manchester Art Gallery, UK

2015

• Eppur Si Muove, MUDAM Luxembourg, Luxemburg

2014

• Is Technology Eating my Brain, Watermans Arts Centre, London, UK (solo)

2013

• Dynamo Wrekshop and Thingy Robots, Arcade Cardiff, (solo)
• Experimental Body Extension Manufacturing Unit, Isea Sydney, Australia

2012

• Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, USA
• Mondes Inventés, Mondes Habités, MUDAM, Luxemburg
• Nouveaux Monstres, National Theatre, Toulouse, France

2011

• Oriel Factory, Oriel Davies, Newtown, UK (solo)

2010

• Maker Faire Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

2009

• Ich Maschine, Edith Russ Haus für Medien Kunst, Oldenburg, Germany
• Evolution Haute Couture, Winzavod Arts Centre, Moscow,
• Locws International, Swansea
• Amber Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
• Spontaneous Phenomenon, AT & T Gallery, Osaka, Japan

2008

• Hand-Made Machines, G39, Cardiff, UK (solo)
• Jump, Nam June Paik Art Centre, Youngin, Korea
• Ecology of the Techno Mind, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria
• La Dégelée Rabelais, Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignons, France

2007

• Tomorrow Now, MUDAM,
• Bad joke, Tallin, Estonia
• Frankenstein's Monster, Stockholm, Sweden
• The Mask of the Red Death, Battersea Arts Centre, London, UK

2006

• Robotarium, Lighthouse, Brighton, UK (solo)
• Positive Activities, Le Lieu, Québec City, Canada (solo)
• Somewhere Else, Something Else, Oriel Davies, Newtown, UK

2005

• Grrr, Galerie Justine Lacroix, Marseille, France (solo)
• Galerija Kapelica, Ljubljana, Slovenia (solo)
• Somewhere Else, Artists from Wales, Welsh Pavilion 51st Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
• BigBlip05, Brighton,

2004

• Quelques Créatures, Galerie Séquence, Chicoutimi, Canada
• Open Borders, Droog design, Tri Postal, Lille, France
• Bad behaviour, touring exhibition from the Arts Council of England, UK

2001

• Z Lab 2001, Chapter Arts Centre, Glynn Vivian Galley, Oriel Mostyn, Lighthouse Wolverhampton (solo)

Awards

2013

• Creative Wales award, Arts Council of Wales

2010

• Production grant from Arts Council Wales
• Commission from Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown Australia

2009

• Travel grant from Wales Arts International
• Grant from Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

2007

• Commission from Battersea Arts Centre, London, UK
• Commission from Discovery World, Milwaukee, USA

2006

• Travel grant from Wales Arts International

2004-2007

• Nesta fellowship (National Endowmwent for Science Technology and the Arts)