Ex Nihilo Cycle – Agathe Simon

AGATHE SIMON
Ex Nihilo Cycle

Transdisciplinary modular exhibition

Variable dimensions, 2026

The exhibition “Ex Nihilo” is dedicated to the ultimate unknown: the origin of the universe. This transdisciplinary cycle presents four works that can be shown individually or in dialogue.

The Ex Nihilo exhibition began with the meeting of two Argentine women in a high-altitude desert at the foot of the QUBIC telescope: Yolanda, a llama breeder, and Beatriz, a cosmologist. Each leads a small community and has developed her own vision of the origin of the universe.

Starting from this encounter, the Ex Nihilo exhibition unfolds a philagnostic process (dedicated to the love of the unknown) through four works:

Celestial Attraction, a 3-channel documentary (4K/HD, 5.1 or stereo, 14’59)
The Philagnostic, a video triptych (4K, stereo, 5’20)
Creation Hypotheses (Fragments on the Unknown), a series of six mixed media works (16×20 inches each)
Ends of the World (Attempts), a sculptural and sound installation (variable dimensions).

PARTNERS

Support & Funding

This project is supported by the CNC (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image), the DRAC Île-de-France (French Ministry of Culture), and ADAGP (the first french visual artists’ rights management organisation). It is also supported by the Splash funding program, led by RN13BIS – Contemporary Art in Normandy, with the support of the DRAC Normandy and the Normandy Region. It was developed as part of the 2022 Documentary Workshop at La Fémis (National Higher School of Image and Sound Professions).

Scientific Partners

This project was developed in partnership with the Astroparticle & Cosmology Laboratory (APC) led by the University of Paris, the CNRS, the DIM-Origines of the Île-de-France region, and the ANR. It was also developed in partnership with the INFN in Italy and the Institute of Detection and Astroparticle Technology (ITeDA) in Argentina, led by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the University of San Martín (UNSAM) and the UTN Mendoza.