Experimentation is at the heart of L’Orbe’s mission. L’Orbe combines natural sensations and data from mobile interfaces. It allows users to discover, deposit and publish media in public spaces. L’Orbe’s immersive nature proposes an exploration of knowledge and plastic spaces.
Since 2009, L’Orbe collective has focused on developing digital art. This art takes shape in practices like walking, dancing, or outdoor games. Here, the digital medium is not a destination. It is simply an instrument. It amplifies sensations, emotions and social interactions. It amplifies a moving thought.
L’Orbe collective unites visual artists and choreographers. Designers and digital architects also belong to it. They experiment and implement experiences. These involve the individual or collective body, public space, and new media. As creators of site-specific performances, L’Orbe designs immersive journeys and urban games. The collective currently leads the European connected dance project REPLAY. This is in collaboration with three European choreographic teams.
L’Orbe’s research activity focuses on the relationships between the body and learning. It studies movement and listening. It studies gesture and creation. This research materializes through the implementation of open digital systems. These systems serve as true matrices for experiences.
Within the studio or during workshops, the L’Orbe team creates connected performances. They make immersive journeys. They also make tools for site-specific creation. The user becomes an interpreter. The user becomes an actor. The user even becomes a performer.
One of L’Orbe’s projects is Rôles de Danse. In this interactive dance game, participants become magicians or jellyfish. They could also become puppet masters. AI-guided prompts coach them. It is a unique performance journey. This experience fuses dance with game design. It makes every performance a new adventure.
Les Nouveaux Stades is another project from L’Orbe. It sets up to celebrate the Olympics. It is located in the center of Paris. It is designed for the greatest number of people. The collective offers new color workshops, games and parades. These are dedicated to all audiences.
L’Orbe also created Application à Danser. This is a nomadic device. It is designed to get everyone to build their dance from everyday gestures. It invites its users to get moving.
Equipped with a smartphone and headphones, participants receive audio-guided instructions. These transport them to familiar situations. Here, their movements are gradually diverted from the original context. Ordinary gestures are transformed and reinvented. This creates a dance that is both personal and collective.
Collective Sound Checks is a collective music experience with smartphones. Each event offers participants the chance to play together. It is part of musical and playful proposals. These are in groups or in interaction with a performer. The project uses CoSiMa. It is a collaborative platform dedicated to collective interaction. It is based on the latest generation of mobile web technologies.
L’Orbe’s work extends beyond digital applications. It delves into the realm of sound. Sonosphère is a contributive and geolocalized sound work. It captures and restores the voices that have populated a place through time. The visitor becomes an explorer of this sound cartography. Equipped with a smartphone, they wander in space. They listen to different voices. These voices are real, fictional or past.
L’Orbe’s innovative approach has garnered recognition. The city of Paris awarded them the Grand Prix de l’Innovation in 2013. This was for their project Topophonie de l’Eau. It received a special Design Mention.
As you leave L’Orbe, consider how digital technology can amplify our experiences. Think how it can transform the way we interact with the world around us. L’Orbe invites us to explore the intersection of art, technology, and human experience.