Joëlle Bitton


ISEA Bio(s) Available:


  • ISEA 2011

    In 1999, Joëlle Bitton completed her DEA, a post-graduate degree from the University of Sorbonne, Paris, France, in the history of techniques. Her thesis, “the Machines of Imaginary” describes the influence of the emerging technologies and networks on European society during the 19th century. In addition, she co-organises Dorkbot Paris events.  As a media artist, Joëlle Bitton co-founded in 2000 an experimental collective, Superficiel, to support art projects which have explored the ideas of surface, screen, sound interaction, and body movement interfaces, among others. She also led an international career as an interaction designer. Between September 2002 and January 2005, she worked as a researcher at Media Lab Europe in Dublin, Ireland. Within the “Human Connectedness” research group, she looked at intimate and social relationships mediated by technologies, most notably with the “RAW” and “Passages” projects. She currently holds a  creative research position addressing similar questions at the Culture Lab in Newcastle University within the SiDE research program (Social Inclusion through Digital Economy).

    ISEA2004

    Joëlle Bitton from the Human Connectedness group at Media Lab Europe is an artist and researcher exploring perceptions of the world. How do they affect our life and understanding of others? By confronting people with intriguing or disorienting experiences, she wants to challenge our assumptions and habits of urban, social and intimate environments. In particular, the project RAW presented at ISEA2004 invite people to shift the awareness they have of a distant culture. Her academic background includes post-graduate studies in media arts at the School of Fine Arts of Paris and in history at the Sorbonne where her research focused on the influence of emerging technologies and networks on the 19th century European society. She co-founded Superficiel in 2000, an experimental platform for digital art projects: ‘Palpitations’ on sexuality and memory; ‘Plakatieren Verboten’ with Rupert Huber, ‘Kindergarten’ on children and fair monsters, ‘Passages’ inspired by Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project… She has also been working as a free-lance interaction designer between Vienna and Paris and presented her work in numerous international events.

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Role(s) at the symposia over the years: