miguel chevalier projects explosions of massive stars onto france's rodez cathedral

best known as one of the pioneers of digital and virtual art, french digital artist miguel chevalier draws inspiration from art history, nature and artifice. for his latest endeavour, chevalier has taken over france’s rodez cathedral, creating a generative virtual reality installation that projects onto the structure’s central nave thirty different colored networks of light, combined with pictures of explosions of massive stars.

all images courtesy of miguel chevalier

dubbed digital supernova, this installation by miguel chevalier is an immersive experience that blends art and science. to bring it to life, the artist has collaborated with astrophysicist fabio acero, a specialist in supernova remnant, who is developing his research at the AIM laboratory. thanks to this alliance, chevalier was able to combine his wired virtual worlds with a series of exclusive documents acero delivered to him.

inside the cathedral, large meshes of light take form and then lose their shape, creating ever-renewed, diversified universes. the composition elements are attracted and repelled by one another, creating a breathing-like rhythm of dilation and contraction. the installation also resonates with the architecture of the cathedral and highlights the volumes of the columns and warhead arches.

overall, digital supernova by miguel chevalier releases a radiant energy into space, opening onto the infinite and immersing visitors into the mysteries of the universe.

project info:

name: digital supernova

artist: miguel chevalier

location: cathedral notre-dame, rodez, france

date: from 8 to 18 august 2019, from 8.30pm to 22.30pm

software: cyrille henry / antoine villeret

technical production: voxels productions