Human study#1 | Patrick Tresset

Human Study#1 is an installation where the human becomes an actor. In a scene reminiscent of a life drawing class, the human takes the sitter’s role to be sketched by a robot. The robot, a stylised minimal artist, is only capable of drawing obsessively. Its body is old school desks on which the drawing paper is pinned.

The drawing sessions last 15 minutes, during which time the human cannot see the drawings in progress. The sitter only sees the robots alternating between observing and drawing, sometimes pausing. The sounds produced by each robot’s motors create an improvised soundtrack. During the exhibition the drawings progressively cover the gallery’s walls. Since 2011 the Human study #1 series of installations have been exhibited more than a hundred times, and produced more than 40,000 drawings.

Patrick Tresset is an artist who, in his work, explores human traits and the aspects of human experience. His work reflects recurrent ideas such as embodiment, memories, mark making. He is known for his performative installations using robotic agents as stylised actors that make marks and for his exploration of the drawing practice. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, including in association with major museums such as The Pompidou Center and The Grand Palais (Paris), Prada Foundation (Milan), Tate Modern and V&A (London), MMCA (Seoul), BOZAR (Brussels), TAM (Beijing), Mcam (Shanghai), Mori Museum (Tokyo) etc.