Justine Emard's Hypnagogic Art: Sleep Data Transformed into Light at Lieu unique

Justine Emard's first major solo exhibition in France, "Hyperphantasia," at Le Lieu unique in Nantes (June 19–August 30, 2026), explores the intersection of sleep and technology through ten works. The centerpiece, "Somnolux" (2026), uses Emard's own sleep data recorded at a Toulouse sleep unit under neurologist Rachel Debs, converting brain activity into luminous signals that bathe the industrial space. The exhibition also features a video game based on an astronaut's sleep (2023, in collaboration with CNES), 3D-printed sculptures of astronaut dreams, and an AI-generated fresco inspired by Chauvet Cave paintings (2022). Other works include augmented reality fossils ("Exovisions," 2017) and an AI-generated creature game ("Chim[AI]ra," 2024). The exhibition closes with "Le Chant des sirènes" (2026), seven soft alarms highlighting digital resource consumption. Emard, born in 1987 and educated at the University of Oklahoma and École d'art de Clermont-Ferrand, resists the label "digital art," emphasizing connections between beings, epochs, and the visible and invisible.