Hugo Pétigny

Résilience, une histoire aux alentours de 12800 watts

This outdoor visual and audio installation tells the story of a cycling trip to France’s largest wind farm, during which we charged lamps using the dynamo, in order to use the only amount of charged light to take a night-time photograph of the field. The final photograph is presented outdoors in this installation, and provides electricity thanks to solar cells created from organic materials developed by the French company Asca.

Électrographie de l'argent (2022)

A solar panel from a Chinese company, suspected of having used Uighur labour, powers thirty-two bulbs that light up solar cells glued to a glass plate. These cells produce different levels of electric current by virtue of the photovoltaic effect whereby contact with a solution of water and silver nitrate triggers the formation of silver crystals on the glass plate. Depending on the number of hours of sunlight in the exhibition space, the shapes take varying amounts of time to build up until they create a glass plate covered with connected crystals whose size defines their resistance over time. Once the composition is complete, the glass plate is removed from the lighting system and becomes an electrograph with electrical energy accumulating the power from all the solar cells.

Silver nitrate, oil and copper are deposited on a solar cell. The different elements begin to interact. The nitrate develops crystals on contact with the copper and these mix with the oil. The whole draws a map in which we can escape to think of the infinitely large and the infinitely small.

I.R Interactions Relativistes (2021)

IR is a project inspired by Thomas Young’s slit experiment. The latter made it possible to understand both the wave and particle behavior of light thanks to the creation of an interference system. In this project, the light is projected then interfered by a cylinder composed of 14 slots ranging from 3.80mm to 7.50mm. The light beams then pass over a frieze of translucent paper covered with photosensitive emulsion before light sensors trigger two simultaneous sound frequencies between 30Hz and 80Hz. This frequency delimitation is established on the principle of cerebral rhythms observed in human being while the duplication of the emission mechanism allows the creation of a binaural sound system which can, according to certain scientific approaches, intervene on the capacities of meditation. 

Energy meeting (2021)

The images are the result of reflecting materials passing in front of the lights of a scanner. The idea is to create a final image that will transmit a visual energy to the viewers. The main source of inspiration being cosmic events.

Magnetic fields (2021)

Inspired by the first experiments on electromagnetism, the iron filings are deposited on a scanner equipped with a magnet.
Three other magnets move as the image is built on the computer. The iron filings are deposited on the moving magnets and cause changes in the image. The result is a series of photographs of moving magnetic fields.

Confusion (2021)

Result of a mixture of techniques, these images trace an interpretation of a mixture of magnetic and photovoltaic energies. Magnets pass over a scanner while an image is taken at the same time. The movement of the magnets drags iron filings and pieces of solar cells in their path. The movement is transcribed and produces an abstract environment reminiscent of the infinitely small.

Energy meeting (2021)

The images are the result of reflecting materials passing in front of lights. The idea is to create a final image that will transmit a visual energy to the viewers. The main source of inspiration being the heart of the stars.