The Paris Opera unveils Coddess Variations, a new collection of digital art by Hermine Bourdin at the crossroads of sculpture and dance. This is the first artwork by another artist utilizing the Operator Generative Choreography Method we developed for our collection Human Unreadable. Coddess Variations is born from a dance performance which will be presented at the Foyer de la Danse of the Palais Garnier on October 20th during Art Basel Paris, the collection consists of 100 unique works that are both physical and digital.

Original idea and sculpture: Hermine Bourdin

Choreographer: Ania Catherine

Dancer: Eugénie Drion

Film visualization: Hervé Martin Delpierre

Composer: Christine Ott

Using the Operator Generative Choreography Method

Coddess Variations is the fruit of a collaboration between the Paris Opera, Paris Opera Ballet dancer Eugénie Drion, sculptor Hermine Bourdin, American choreographer Ania Catherine, director Hervé Martin Delpierre, and composer Christine Ott, using the Operator Generative Choreography Method. Based on an original idea by Hermine Bourdin, this new digital art collection is inspired by the figure of a Paleolithic goddess brought to life through dance.

A fundamental aspect of this work is the filmed capture by Hervé Martin Delpierre, whose images serve as the basis for the works in the collection composed of sculptures and digital works.

The piece that will be performed in October is a site-specific performance choreographed by Ania Catherine, the sequencing of which has been dictated by Operator’s custom choreographic algorithm. The movement is designed to represent three manifestations of the goddess: maiden, mother, and crone. This choreography will be performed by dancer Eugénie Drion, dressed in a costume imagined by sculptor Hermine Bourdin and created in the workshops of the Paris National Opera in close collaboration with Christine Neumeister, costume director.

Collectors own the digital artworks and the underlying choreography that generated the pieces–each artwork is tied to specific choreographic characteristics as well as a segment of the performance.

Coddess Variations aims to connect the real and virtual worlds, marrying the ancient art of sculpture, the classical art of dance, the 20th-century art of film, and the 21st-century art of code. It seeks to create a dialogue between the Goddess of ancient times, the spiritual foundation of lost civilizations, and the spatio-temporal revolution of algorithmic codes that shape our current world."

- Hermine Bourdin