As part of the International Year of Glass proclaimed in 2022 by the United Nations, the University of Orléans invited visual artist Estelle Cala and musician Charles-Zoltan de Leissègues for an artist residency to create and share their research.

During this year-long residency, they propose a journey through the transformations of glass material — in its scientific, visual, and aesthetic dimensions, as well as in its symbolism as a “material of the in-between.” The sonic and visual properties of glass — from its haptic surface to its translucent core — are explored through digital technologies for artistic purposes: through the shaping of light, the projection of sound, performances beyond the mirror, and labyrinthine installations that invite visitors on a multi-layered journey, two facets of which are presented here:

• La Chimère, Sculpted by Estelle Cala and conceived through a large-scale participatory process, La Chimère is a fragmented glass creature dispersed throughout the University of Orléans, with its pieces created separately in various workshops, in collaboration with master glassmaker Pierre Gallou from the verrerie d’art d’Amboise.
  
  
• Le Cénophage, an open-air funerary box containing several engraved glass plates with labyrinthine patterns, echoing the shattering of impacted glass. Each glass plate is engraved on both sides: the front reveals the full labyrinth design, while the back retains only its concentric circles. The engraving was carried out by D.W.S.

These artworks, which unsettle the senses, are analyzed through the lens of visual, auditory, and tactile disturbances. Visually, the surface of the glass is used to full effect under laser light and video projection. Sonically, visitors are invited to traverse soundscapes built from granular synthesis of fragmented glass sounds.

To help us grasp the materiality of these works more intimately, haptic perception (from the Greek ἅπτομαι [haptomai], meaning I touch) leads us to the point where sight evokes tactile sensations — and perhaps even beyond. In the depth brought by the transparency of glass sculpture, “touch stops, light passes.”