Niform 2020

niform is an interactive installation. In a large black room, an image fills an entire wall facing the audience; at first it is still and completely out of focus. It is composed of a group of some twenty men shown at 1:1 scale. Made uniform by the blur, the image is uniform too in dress: a cordon of police officers in riot gear. As they move, viewers act on the focus of the image.

The closer they come, and according to the shape of their bodies, each part of the image facing them gradually sharpens. Standing less than fifty centimetres from the screen, a viewer brings into focus the one officer directly in front of them. The image has no single sharp zone, no single depth of field, but several at once. Those depths are local, individual, and shift with the position of each viewer.

Out of a uniform image, every viewer, by stepping forward, reveals a singular man — an individual they now face. niform, 2007–2020. Interactive installation by Samuel Bianchini. Engineering (capture and image processing): Colin Bouvry. Photography: Jérémie Giniaux-Kats. With the advice and support of Sylvie Tissot, Paul Girard and Stéphane Maguet.

A co-production of CiTu, Dispothèque, Numeriscausa and Bouillants, with the scientific collaboration of the Laboratoire d’Informatique pour la Mécanique et les Sciences de l’Ingénieur (LIMSI-CNRS). The project received support from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication (DICRéAM programme) and from the Mairie de Paris. With thanks to Antonio Gallego, Vincent Gautier, Cyrille Henry, Christian Jacquemin, Jason Karaïndros and Julie Miguirditchian.

A work dedicated to Alain Declercq.