"Sillages: Atoms in Motion", an Arts & Sciences project linked to microscopy

How to bring to life geological processes unfolding on time and space scales beyond human perception?

Anne-Magali Seydoux-Guillaume transforms and then studies extra-thin sheets of rock on a nanometric scale to re-enact intense disturbances of the past in the laboratory and interpret past movements of matter. Etienne Pageault re-enacts the slow movements of the world in graphic and scenic performances, to get closer to the moving logic of matter. Together, they hope to bring these scientific and artistic approaches together in co-constructed research and performances, to set in motion the frozen landscapes of geology, and the overly compartmentalized representations of the scientific and artistic worlds. By renewing the imagination of science, and highlighting local human, geological and technological resources, they also hope to contribute to the attractiveness of our region and our industries. This Arts & Sciences project is funded by the Institut Rhônalpin des Systèmes Complexes (IXXI) and the Jean Monnet University Foundation.

Anne-Magali Seydoux-Guillaume (DR CNRS at LGL-TPE) is a mineralogist and microscopist, and is interested in the transformations of minerals in response to various processes, long (geological scale) or very rapid (femto-second), on the nanometric scale. She is also interested in perturbations to the time record measured in these same minerals. She tackles these problems through two complementary approaches: laboratory experimentation and the study of natural systems.

Etienne Pageault is a visual artist and dancer, currently in residence at the Ateliers d'Arts Visuels de la ville de Saint-Étienne. He frequently works in teams with partners from the scientific and/or technical fields, approaching visual arts and performance as territories conducive to bringing together complementary modes of thought, temporality and representation.

Left image: Workshop-blown pigments and mineral filler. Image width: 60 cm. Credits: Etienne Pageault.
Right image: Laser-shocked mineral in the laboratory. Image width: 2.5 µm. Credits: Anne-Magali Seydoux-Guillaume.

For further information: https://arts.univ-st-etienne.fr/fr/recherche/projets-de-recherche/sillag...