ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I am a transdisciplinary artist exploring the human condition through the staging of language. Inspired by my journeys in extreme environments, I developed the concept of Philagnosty — the love of the unknown —, which stands at the heart of my practice. I create thematic cycles where video, performance, installation, sound, and text enter into dialogue. Through these hybrid narratives and immersive experiences, I invite audiences to encounter art as a space of memory, transformation, and freedom.

BIOGRAPHY

Agathe Simon is a French artist, researcher, and mentor, born in 1977. An explorer of extreme environments (Antarctica, Andes, Ayahuasca) and inventor of the concept of Philagnosty — the love of the unknown —, she develops a transdisciplinary practice in which the staging of language questions the creative act and the human experience.

Supported by key cultural organizations (CNC, DRAC, Swedish Arts Grants Committee), her projects have been presented in notable institutions and international events, including the Venice Architecture Biennale, Esch2022 European Capital of Culture (Luxembourg), Galerie Michel Journiac (Paris), Night of Ideas at Villa Albertine (United States), and the Maison de la Poésie (Paris). She has notably been an artist-in-residence at the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy), the Cité internationale des arts (Paris), and the Carlini Base (Antarctica).

As an extension of her artistic practice, she conducts research on the creative process within the ACTE Institute at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She is the founder and head of the Cinema Workshops at Sorbonne University. Trained at the Documentary Workshop of La Fémis (France’s national film school), she holds doctorates in French literature (Sorbonne University) and in music (Paris Conservatory, CNSMDP). She lives and creates between Normandy and Paris, France.