Artist Name

Simon David

Residency Program Title

Master Series 2022

Residency Program

Archive

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Institute Lab Title

Swiss Plasma Centre

Artistic Background

Video, Photography

Scientific Discipline

Fusion Energy

Video

Gallery

Biography

Biography

David Simon (*1991) lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
His artistic inquiries often circle around metaphors and associations, both of which have been an ongoing fields of interest for him. In his recent work he has been exploring the aesthetic and symbolic qualities of various natural phenomena. Besides his individual practice, David Simon is also part of the artist duo Simon/Odermatt.

He is currently completing his Master’s degree in Transdisciplinary Studies at Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK. Before pursuing an artistic career, he has been active as an entrepreneur in the technology sector, and was the co-founder of the think and do tank Dezentrum, where he still acts as partner.

Info

Project

The project for David Simon’s Master Series residency seeks to investigate the aesthetic properties of fusion plasma. By which technological means can it be explored and could it be even be used as an artistic medium itself? There seems to be a sort of promethean promise in the idea of fusion energy and the artist aims to investigate his profound interest in its research and development at the Swiss Plasma Center.

In his work, the artist has been interested in the temporal dimension of fire and similar phenomena. In contrast to an all-consuming fast burning fire there are also slow burning fires, for example in old coal mines that potentially burn for hundreds of years. This type of burning process may last multiple lifetimes of a human being and yet, at its core it is still that same exothermic reaction that drives a firework rocket. Looking at the process of energy production with fusion, it too involves similar temporal differences.

Working mainly with film and photography, David Simon is looking forward to a process of exchange, research and experimenting, in collaboration with scientists of the Swiss Plasma Center.

Website

www.davidsimon.ch