EXPLORE PHI:
OVER HERE
THE GENESIS OF THE PROJECT
The project began in 2020 with Club Sexu, PHI, Sam Greffe and Sandra Rodriguez. In a society where digital technology and algorithms are taking more and more place in our lives, we wanted to open up discussions on intimacy to collectively explore how new technologies influence and transform our emotional and sexual lives. We also wanted to create a space for reflection that is lively, interactive, and multi-sensory.
Club Sexu is a not-for-profit media organization whose mission is to openly discuss sexuality, gender and intimacy positively and inclusively. At PHI, we aim to present inclusive programming while ensuring that diverse voices are respected and actively elevated through the lens of art. a_BAHN is a Luxembourg-based production studio dedicated to the hybridization of artistic practices regardless of established rules. By joining forces, Sex, Desire and Data has become a unique and intriguing experience that provides reflection and discussion around the tensions between what is digital and our various desires.
Co-produced by PHI Studio and a_BAHN created in partners hip with Club Sexu
PHI Studio strives to become a leader in immersive arts and entertainment by producing and marketing the next generation of immersive exhibitions. As pioneers in the burgeoning field of art that integrates new media technology, PHI Studio has developed a reputation as an incubator for talent at the vanguard and as a catalyst for the conception and implementation of immersive multidisciplinary projects. They are continually exploring the ways in which technology can lead to new forms of artistic expression and storytelling. PHI Studio is committed to collaborating with artists, producers, and partners to foster the creation and development of pioneering innovative artworks, shaping the future of immersive experiences.
Since its foundation in 2013, a_BAHN has been committed to developing the art of hybridisation. At the intersection of various forms and genres (fiction, documentary, animation, XR), a_BAHN's productions break free from established norms and assert a unique experience in hybridized original content. Bringing together the traditional worlds of film and television with new media, the company is dedicated to creating daring artistic content and developing challenging, engaging stories for international audiences.
An independent media outlet and a non-profit creative studio, Club Sexu specializes in positive, inclusive and empowering knowledge around sexuality. With a team of experts in sexology and communications, the studio creates content, campaigns and events that share information about sexuality, gender and intimacy in an accessible, innovative and entertaining way without compromising relevancy.
CREATIVE TEAM
Discover the creative team behind the experience.
Sandra Rodriguez
Sandra Rodriguez
Sandra Rodriguez is a creative director and technology sociologist. Exploring non-fiction in VR/AR/AI, she directs, conceptualizes, and produces interactive and immersive works broadcast and awarded internationally. The spokesperson for the AI&Arts initiative in Montreal (QdS, ONF, Google AI, Element AI), she also leads HackingXR at MIT, the very first program in immersive creation (in partnership with Oculus).Rodriguez has acted as a mentor, consultant, and speaker on immersive creation, user experience, and digital storytelling at numerous events.
Sam Greffe
Sam Greffe
Greffe designs and creates immersive interactive experiences. He brings together artists and technologists to develop innovative proposals nurtured by his enthusiasm for new technologies.Since 2005, he has actively taken part in setting in motion original creative processes, in phase with current technological movements. From cinema to digital arts, his curiosity pushes him to create atypical paths to conduct extraordinary projects. Over the years, he has accumulated a solid network of collaborators (Lemieux – Pilon, CNA, HBO, Mathematic studio) that he constantly involves in his various works.
Maude Huysmans
Maude Huysmans
Huysmans co-founded CLUB SEXU, the instigator of this project and the one who initiated the first meeting of the team in order to make the project a reality. She has been working as an experiential space designer for over seven years, developing an approach that highlights user experience. Her approach and experience bring a unique sensitivity to topics such as erotic environments, safe spaces, and the materialization of safe spaces in both physical and digital environments.
Annabelle Fiset
Annabelle Fiset
With over 15 years of experience, Annabelle Fiset began her exhibition design career in 2015 with GSM Project. Joining PHI in 2019, her first mandate as creative director was to deliver a large-scale immersive exhibition, THE INFINITE. The final result, after many iterations, underscores her incredible ability to bring to fruition a highly avant-garde, poetic and technologically demanding immersive journey.
Ianna Book
Ianna Book
Ianna is a multidisciplinary trans artist who lives and works in Montreal. Since 2001, she has participated in several group exhibitions. In spring 2016, Ianna had a solo exhibition at the Leslie & Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York. Currently, she is part of the curatorial selection for the Brooklyn Museum's Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
Lucas LaRochelle
Lucas LaRochelle
Lucas LaRochelle is a queer artist developing a design and research practice that focuses on queer geographies, critical internet studies, and community archiving. Their project Queering The Map digitally archives queer experience as it relates to physical space through community-generated counter-mapping. There have been features on their work at CityLab, CBC Arts, VICE, AIGA Eye On Design, Vogue, I-D, Paper, INTO, Yorokobu, Archer, Numerama, and Project Myopia.
Laura Mannelli
Laura Mannelli
Laura Mannelli is an architect and artist from Luxembourg. Her practice lies at the crossroads of the visual arts, digital art, virtual reality and architecture. She develops a multidisciplinary, collective approach to creation, creating works described as atopic architectures within real and virtual spaces.
Damiano Picci
Damiano Picci
Damiano Picci, a Luxembourgian contemporary and digital composer, discovered his passion for music at age 6. He honed his skills in various music schools, including the Conservatoire in Luxembourg, studying classical harmony, contemporary pop/rock, jazz, electro-acoustic music, and multiple instruments. After earning a degree in 'Sound & Music Production,' he explored computer music and multimedia installations. An enriching stint at Antwerp's Galaxy Studios expanded his expertise in spatial sound and orchestral music. Returning to Luxembourg, Damiano focused on composing music for dance, theater, and immersive installations, merging traditional techniques with innovative AI and generative music systems that blur the lines between music and coding.
CO-DESIGN
Édouard Lanctôt-Benoît
Édouard Lanctôt-Benoît
Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit is an artist and creative developer specialized in interactive videos and installations. For 10 years, he was part of Vincent Morisset's team at AATOAA, with whom he collaborated to the development and the creation of interactive art produced, amongst others, by the NFB and the Google Creative Lab. In 2022, he joined PHI where he specializes in creating audacious installations through visual effects and artificial intelligence. His work has been rewarded with prestigious prizes such as the Emmy Awards, Cannes Cyber Lions, South By Southwest, the Webby Awards, FITC Technical Excellence Award and the Adobe Cutting Edge Award.
Juliette Langevin
Juliette Langevin
Juliette Langevin, co-design Show Me Yours. Juliette is a writer and photographer. Her eye and her pen, driven by a poetic necessity, focus on the intimate and the transgressive. Fille Méchante, her first book, will hit bookstores in September 2023. Co-founder of Nœud Gachette, a fanzine micro-publishing collective, she also publishes her prose in a number of literary magazines.
CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IMMERSIVE JOURNEY
Creative Direction : Annabelle Fiset, Maude Huysmans, Samuel Greffe, Sandra Rodriguez
Creative Direction, Collaborator : Phoebe Greenberg
Executive Producer, PHI Studio : Julie Tremblay
Executive Producers, a_BAHN : François Le Gall, Marion Guth
Immersive Experience Producers, PHI Studio: Coline Delbaere, Isabelle Brodeur
Artistic Direction & Scenography, PHI Studio: Sarah Migos
Artistic Direction, Club Sexu : Geneviève Bergeron
Scenographer, Club Sexu : Charline Lezerac
Composer : Damiano Picci
Sound Editor : Eric Slunecko
Sound Mixer : Cédric Fisher
Sound Designer : Damiano Picci
Technology Director : Marc-André Nadeau
Technology Director, Collaborator : Hugues Kir
Software Infrastructure and Tracking System : Thomas Azoug
Creative Développement : Édouard Lanctôt-Benoît
Technical Development Support : Jonathan Hardy
Technical Coordinator : Madison Dinelle
Technical Director : Michaël Lefebvre
Technical Director, Assistant : Eliot Sarrazin
Technical Director, Collaborator: Nicolas Jobin
Production Manager : Stephanie Vincelli
Production Coordinator : Floriane Julia Soulard, Kevan Rahimaly
Technicians : Dorian Verhaegen, Jeremy Felker, Ké Medley
Production Coordinator, a_BAHN : Laurent Derré
Head of Production, a_BAHN : Djima Gana
Head of XR Studio, Velvet Flare : Damiano Picci
Production Manager, Velvet Flare : Peter Brown
Key Animator, Velvet Flare : Richie Jegen
Sexological Design & Consultation, Club Sexu : Léa Séguin, Morag Bosom, Sara Mathieu-C
Translation : Ismaël Backes
Inclusive Proofreading, Club Sexu : Ariel Sosic, Magali Guilbault-Fitzbay, Chelsea Larsson, Catherine Montambeault
Inclusive Proofreading, PHI Studio : Pierre-Olivier Marnier-Leseize
Copywriting : Andrew Gray
THE INTERACTIVE WORKS WERE CREATED WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE FOLLOWING CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL RESSOURCES :
SCENOGRAPHY AND EXPERIENTIAL JOURNEY
Creative Directors :
Annabelle Fiset, Sandra Rodriguez
EDITORIAL INTENT AND DEVELOPMENT
Creative Direction, Club Sexu : Maude Huysmans
Seat Designer : Clara Jorish
MAX
Creative Director : Sandra Rodriguez
Design & AI Scriptwriting : Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit, Sandra Rodriguez
Script Writer, Club Sexu : Justin Roy
Script Writing Consultants : Nadine Mathurin, Francis Delfour
Creative Développer : Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit
Computer Graphics & Programming : Hugues Kir
AI Consultant : Michael Noukhovitch
Key Design-Modeling : Davide Picci
Front End Development : Richie Jegen, Pierre Tacchi
Badge Design : Daniel Demay
Movement Actress : Andréanne Daigle
ALGOMATCH
A work adapted from the original platform (Game On, 2019) Club Sexu
Creative Director, Club Sexu : Maude Huysmans
Designers, Scriptwriters & Inclusive Proofreading, Club Sexu : Justin Roy, Joshua Lessard, Maude Huysmans
Translation : Kristen Theodore
Interactive Application Developer : Richie Jegen, Thomas Azoug
Key Design-Modeling : Davide Picci
Graphic Designer : Maïté Cayuelas Colla, Brigitte Nataï
Lead Animator : Richie Jegen
Animators : Davide Picci, Jacoub Khouri, Zohra Mrad
Prototype Interactive Application Developers : Nicolas Dubé-Pauzé, Ké Medley
RESULTS
Creative Director : Sandra Rodriguez
Conception : Sandra Rodriguez, Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit
Creative Developer : Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit
AI Consultant : Gauthier Gidel
Vestaboard development : Jonathan Hardy
HELLO
A work inspired by OK LUCID, created in 2015 (performance and installation) Ianna Book
Designer & Art Director : Ianna Book
Creative Director, Club Sexu : Maude Huysmans
Graphic Designer : Catherine Sabourin
Animator : Raphaël Jean
Statue Designer : Rino Côté
Costume Designer : Renée Tardif
CONFESSIONNAL
A work adapted from the original platform clubsexu.com/confessionnal (2019)
Creative Director & Inclusive Proofreading, Club Sexu : Maude Huysmans
Director of Casting & Acting : Nathalie Hamel Roy
Script Adaptation : Robert Vézina
Recording & Mixing : Philippe Rochefort
Actors : Alexandre Bacon, Celia Gouin Arseneault, Danny Boudreau, Eloisa Cervantes, Emmanuel Schwartz, Florence Blain M'Baye, Frederik Zacharek, Holly Frankel Gauthier, Isabelle Miquelon, Nathalie Hamel Roy, Nicolas Poulin, Patrick Emmanuel Abélard, Robert Vézina, Romane Denis.
Content Consultants : Aïcha Black, Chloé Saint-Laurent, Gina Flash, Jason Drake.
VIBRATO
Art Director & Designer : Laura Mannelli
Creation Collaborator : Samuel Greffe
Lighting, Kinetics & Technical Designer : Eric Slunecko (Mad-Trix)
Sensor Programming : Raphaël Hoffman (Mad-Trix)
Textile Designer : Davide Picci
Textile Designer Assistants : Georges Maikel, Joëlle Mischo, Hilary Brown, Véro Ranaivoson, Adélia Gonçalves Simões, Zohrad Mrad, Maïté Cayuelas Colla
Sound System Designer : Cédric Fischer (Mad-Trix)
Metal Structure : Metal-Line
Project Manager : Oliver Lang (Mad-Trix)
Production Manager : Peter Brown
SHOW ME YOURS
Creator & Director : Samuel Greffe
Co-Creator : Juliette Langevin
Visual Experience Designers : Saverio Trapasso
Interactive Application Developpers : Jonathan Hardy
Technological infrastructure : Thomas Azoug
3D Artist & Key Animator : Richie Jegen
3D Artist & Technnological Assistant : Ké Medley
Characters modelling : Jacoub Khouri
3D Sculptor : Yuri Giordano
Texture Artist : Thomas Luliano
Audio Director : Thimalay Sukhaseum
Technnological Accessories Consultant : Frederic Segard
Character Design Storyboarding : Nimit Malavia
Content Consultants : Agna, Aïcha Black, Goddess Ges, Gina Flesh, Jacqueline Beaumont, Jason Drake, Maude Veilleux
QUEERING THE MAP
A work adapted from the original platform queeringthemap.com Lucas LaRochelle (2019)
Creator & Art Director : Lucas LaRochelle
Creative Director : Samuel Greffe
Creative Developer : Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit
Development Support : Hugues Kir
Video editor : Kevin Delamourd
Prototyping Motion Design : Florence Levasseur
Participation in audio recordings : Dennis Om-Fickler, Emilie Desrue, Jani Greffe Belanger, Jacqueline Beaumont, Jeanne Marceau, Juan Camilo Rodriguez, Juan Manuel Andrade Gamboa, Lucas LaRochelle, Sylvestre Oulé-Mailloux, Tess Kuramoto
MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, MÉDIATION SEXUELLE ET DIVERSITÉ
Marketing Director : Jeremy Leith
Senior Content Manager : Emmy Landre
Project Manager : Violaine St-Cyr
Artistic Director : Michel Ouellette
Artistic Director Club Sexu : Geneviève Bergeron
Digital Consultant : Marie-France Simard
Chief, New Media Partnerships and PR : Myriam Achard
Public Relations & Project Managers : Kevin Delaney, Pierre-Olivier Marinier Leseize
Communications Agent : Andrew Gray
Development & Design : Maude Huysmans
Sexological Consultation & Design : Morag Bosom
Mediation Guide Collaborator : Andrey Gray, Ève Landry
WEB PLATFORM
Agence Hoffman
Co-chief Technology : Franck Jorge
UI Designer : Mathilde Merlier
UX Designer : David Martineau
Production Responsable : Josué Amédégnato
Co-Artistic Director : Geneviève Bergeron (Club Sexu) et Michel Ouellette (PHI)
Project Manager : Marie-France Simard
THANKS TO OUR COLLABORATORS
Studio Artefact
Morel Leroux
CR34TE
Solotech
Antilatency
BeMatrix
Ottomata
Show Distribution
ShowTex
Metal-Line
Proxee
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Canada Media Fund
Film Fund Luxembourg
Ministère de la Culture et des Communications
Société de développement des entreprises culturelles
Atelier Grand Nord XR
Conseils des arts de Montréal
Tourisme Montréal
This platform has received special support from the Canada Council for the Arts
LAND ACKNOWLEGMENT
We would like to acknowledge that Sexe, Desire and Data is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehà:ka Nation is recognized as the custodian of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montréal community.