Biography

Born in Tillsonburg, Canada. Lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

David Rokeby is an installation artist, considered one of the pioneers of interactive art. Born in 1960 in Tillsonburg, Ontario, he is based in Toronto, where he studied at the Ontario College of Art. Since 1982, Rokeby’s works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale in 1986, where he presented one of his emblematic works, Very Nervous System.

Solo exhibition

LA CHAMBRE BLANCHE

Timbre Space, 2021, interactive sound installation

Minimal Object (With Time on Your Hands), 2012-2019, interactive sound installation

David Rokeby programs software with the attitude of an electronic composer or technological philosopher. His kinetic, interactive and multisensorial sculptures immerse participants as they dissect and examine issues of contemporary technoculture. Minimal Object (With Time on Your Hands) is actuated by spectators’ movements. From the plain space and invisible protocol emerges a surprising result. As a hand glides over the canvas in a wave-like motion, it triggers a succession of noises: breaking glass, applause, grinding, panting, all seamlessly overlapping. Spectators conduct the composition, varying the arrangement and giving sound to their motions. In Timbre Space, the invisible architecture of the work is shaped by 500 sound objects in the note of F, this time providing additional texture to our experience of space through sound.