As part of iMAL Projects Office 2025, Maud was selected for a FabLab experimentation Residency, where she worked on her project " Rugit le Coeur "

This project is a reference to the Dreamachine, an experimental device created in 1961 by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville. Composed of a 78-rpm record player, an electric light bulb, and a perforated cardboard cylinder, the Dreamachine projects light patterns onto the closed eyelids of viewers, inducing the production of alpha brain waves associated with altered states of consciousness. Its creators conceived it as both a work of art and a tool for transcendence.

Rugit le Coeur proposes to reinterpret the history, uses, and materials of the Dreamachine through a poetic and humorous exploration of what the artist calls “domestic trance,” while questioning the notion of energy from a personal perspective.

During the residency, Maud designed a prototype of a motorized rotating system consisting of a motor, an Arduino UNO, a speed controller, gears, and a light source. The assembly was designed to be visible and modular so that it could be easily adapted to different materials and contexts. This open approach aims to encourage the reproduction and reinterpretation of the device in an open-source and DIY spirit. The prototype’s construction involved several tools from the fablab: the laser cutter for making the base and other structural components, 3D printing for the gears and certain technical parts, and the electronics bench for assembling and testing the system.

At the same time, Maud conducted a series of material experiments using 3D printing and laser cutting (engraving and cutting on fabric and paper), as well as metal engraving and cutting via electrolysis. This research aims to develop a series of sculptures intended for installation on the rotating platforms.

Since the residency, Maud has focused on the sculptural dimension of the project. She creates sculptures freely inspired by the perforated cylinder of the Dreamachine, often painted inside and out with Gysin’s calligraphic motifs. Each sculpture will illustrate a different facet of “energy” drawn from her personal experience: the energy of protest and collective action, the subtle energy defined in yoga and meditation, and nuclear energy viewed through the prism of nuclear medicine used in cancer treatment, among others. These sculptures will be created using lightweight, accessible materials—paper, cardboard, fabric, and thin sheets of aluminum and copper—by combining traditional craft and DIY techniques, and may incorporate images and text. They will then be assembled on the rotating mechanisms.

This residency provided Maud with the technical and material support she needed to launch the first phase of her project. It also allowed her to explore new fabrication techniques, expand her knowledge, and discover the fablab community, whose collaborative and experimental spirit directly fuels her project’s approach.

I am a visual artist based in Brussels who mainly experiments with the way language and linguistic principles can be used to create visual and spatial narratives. These narratives are composed of publications, texts, drawings and sculptures that culminate in installations. My installations are often rooted in intimate stories and familiar objects, which I intertwine with wordplay, language games, and, above all, coincidences—such as slips of the pen or tongue.

My research leads me through history and past traditions, where I look for possible connections. This specific way of identifying relationships and patterns serves as a model for my narratives.

Recently, my sculptural practice has turned to experiment with organic materials and those from the domestic sphere. This research is accompanied by a growing interest in disciplines identified as 'feminine', 'passive' or 'minor', such as decoration and ornamentation, leisure and craft, alternative medicine, pseudo-science and mysticism. I examine how the aesthetics produced by these fields can serve as a form of subversion, challenging dominant cultural narratives.

I am interested in private lexicons, mixing texts, drawings and other mediums in ways that have internal logics not necessarily discernible to those outside. My work, often presented in minimal and very precise installation, acts as an abstract semiotic system that generate meanings via a process of interaction.

To discover more : https://www.maudgourdon.com

Credit for Maud Gourdon's portray : Maud Gourdon

Credit for "Rugit le Coeur" visual : Collage made by Maud Gourdon from images of "Wake up to Yoga" book of Lyn Marshall and the Dreamachine motif imagined by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville.