ABOUT CODE

Murs Invisibles (Invisible Walls) is an immersive installation by the Iakeri collective that uses code to make perceptible the gender inequalities and the power relations produced by patriarchy. Drawing on open-access statistics from organizations such as INSEE, INED, DANE, the UN, and the OECD, the Murs Invisibles transforms abstract numbers into a sensory experience.

In a sonic mist environment, jellyfishshaped mobiles serve as supports for projected data. Their movement and displayed content are driven by a Python script created by the artists. The code reveals variables such as country, year, statistics, women, along with comments that directly evoke the inequalities addressed. The script uses a protocol normally dedicated to fast Internet transmissions, repurposed here to send data to a simple Unix-style terminal screen that acts as the display space. The screen scrolls through the data, which is then projected onto the mobiles. Meanwhile, a program developed in Max/MSP – a musical software environment based on graphical programming – receives the same messages and generates the installation’s soundscape.

An infinite loop structures the 25-minute sequence of the three tableaux – Disappearances, Gaps, Violence – whose segments continually recur and transform. This code excerpt shows how common digital tools can be reinvested in the performing arts to coordinate sound and image, and how these tools can become artistic and activist materials.