France Jobin

France Jobin is a sound / installation / artist, composer and curator residing in Montreal, Canada. Her audio art can be qualified as “sound-sculpture”, revealing a minimalist approach to complex sound environments where analog and digital intersect. Her installations express a parallel path, incorporating both musical and visual elements inspired by the architecture of physical spaces. Her works can be “experienced” in a variety of unconventional spaces and new technology festivals across Canada, the United States, South America, South Africa, Europe, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Since 2009, her focus has been related to Quantum mechanics. Many of her projects are inspired by theories related to topics such as vacuum decay, string theory and more recently, what she feels to be the most perplexing phenomenon in the world of the quantum entanglement resulting in a first presentation, Entanglement A/V, with visual artist Markus Heckmann, which delves into the realms of quantum physics premiered at Mutek Mtl 2021.

In November 2019, she presented her first modular concert (Buchla 100) at the Ernst Krenek Institute in Austria.

Jobin has created solo recordings for Editions Mego (AT), No-ware (CL-DE), Silent Records (USA), popmuzik records (JP), bake/staalplaat (NL), ROOM40 (AU), nvo (AT), DER (US), ATAK (JP), murmur records (JP), Baskaru (FR) and the prestigious LINE label (US). Jobin’s sound art is also part of countless compilation albums, notably on the ATAK (JP), bremsstrahlung (US), Mutek (CA), murmur records (JP), and/oar (US), tsuku boshi (FR), everest records (CH), and Contour Editions (US) labels. She is also featured in the influential book and recording, Extract, Portraits of Soundartists (book + 2 cd), released on the nonvisualobjects label (AT). The collaborative album ligne, created with sound artist Tomas Phillips, was released on the ATAK label (JP) and her recent collaboration with acclaimed artist Richard Chartier, DUO, is released on the mAtter label in Japan. 

DUO A/V premiered at Mutek Mtl 2019 with sound artist Richard Chartier and visual artist Markus Heckmann and was presented at the Precxte festival in South Korea.

Her latest project ‘Entanglement’, is related to quantum physics and the first iteration is  ‘Entanglement AV’, an audio visual live performance created with visual artist Markus Heckmann. It was premiered at Mutek Montreal in August 2021. Since the premiere, they have presented it at  Mutek ES in March 2022 and at INDEX – Biennale of media arts in Braga Portugal,  at GAS festival in October in Göteberg, Sweden, Mutek MX and Mutek JP. An XR version has also been created and has been touring worldwide since the launch of the Mutek Immersive Collection in August 2022.

Her installations and screenings have been shown internationally at museums and festivals. Her work ‘P Orbital’ released on LINE (‘Valence’, LINE054) was presented in the context of ESCUCHAS, a first sound art exhibit for the Museum of Modern Art in Medellin, Colombia. ‘P Orbital’ was also presented at CONTEXT-ing / Listening as CONTEXT at the Miami Art Fair in Florida, Call & Response, London Uk as well as at the Haunted formalism exhibit in LA curated by Volume.  An invitation to the AIR Artist-In-Residence program in Krems, Austria enabled her to create ‘und transit’, a sound installation set in the MinoritenKirche cloister in Stein (AT) and ‘und transit.03’ has been presented in the sound art exhibit “Dock” at the Ancien Palais de Justice in Lièges, Belgium. 

Her two ongoing collaborations with visual artist Cédrick Eymenier (FR) have resulted in ‘EVENT HORIZON’, an audio/video piece, and The Answer, a movie, with the soundtrack by France Jobin and Stephan Mathieu. ‘EVENT HORIZON’ was screened in Paris (2010), at the Venezuela Biennale in Merida state (2010) and was performed live at the Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles (2010) and ISEA RUHR 2010 (DE). ‘The Answer’ was screened at IAC, Villeurbanne, France in March – May 2016. In 2011, Jobin was one of five international artists selected to present her sound installation, ‘Entre-Deux’, in the new media exhibit ‘Data/Fields’, curated by Richard Chartier at Artisphere in the Washington, DC area, along with Ryoji Ikeda, Mark Fell, Caleb Coppock, and Andy Graydon. Her proposition received critical acclaim from the national press. ‘Entre-Deux’ was presented at N38E13 in Palermo, Sicily (2017). 

She premiered the audio visual performance of ‘intrication’ at Mutek AR 2018 with the Argentinian visual duo prifma. Her audio visual collaboration: ‘Mirror Neurons’ with sound artist Fabio Perletta (IT) and xx+xy visuals (IT) was screened as a world premiere at A x S / ak-sis / FESTIVAL 2014 | CURIOSITY as part of the Synergetica Screening in Los Angeles in September 2014. In October 2015, France was invited to take part in an artist residency at EMPAC (Troy,NY) which resulted in the creation of a new light sound work entitled ‘4.35 – R0 – 413’, a collaboration with Alena Samoray, lighting designer. 

Her latest installations, ‘Inter/sperse’ and ‘Entre/temps’ both premiered in Italy. ‘Inter/sperse’ is a site specific installation created in the context of an international residency organized by Museolaboratorio, LUX and farmacia901. It opened May 27, 2017 at Museolaboratorio, Città Sant’Angelo Italy. ‘Entre/temps’ is a site specific installation commissioned by Enzo De Leonibus, artistic director of the EaRrEtMeI festival which opened in Palena, Itally, June 4 2017.

She has also participated in numerous music and new technology festivals such as Mutek (Montreal, 2001, 2004 – 2009, 2014, 2017, 2019 AR 2018), Festival Novas Frequencies (Rio, Brazil, 2019) Prectxe (South Korea, 2019), Interference (Austin, 2019), Suoni Per Il Popolo (Montreal 2019), EM15 (Montreal 2014), EMPAC (US 2011, 2015), roBOT 8 (Italy 2015) Angelica Festival (Italy 2016), Portobeseno (Italy 2014), Interferenze – Liminaria (Italy 2014), Flussi Media Arts Festival (Italy 2014), FIMAV,  SEND + RECEIVE (Winnipeg, 2003, 2005), Club Transmediale (Berlin, 2004), Shut up and Listen (Vienna, 2009), ISEA RUHR 2010 (Germany), the surface tension tour (Japan, 2012) and the Symétrie tour (Japan 2016).

“immersound” is a concert event/philosophy concept initiated by Jobin, which proposes the creation of a dedicated listening environment by focusing on the physical comfort of the audience within a specifically designed space. The premise of “immersound” is to seek out/explore new perceptions in and experiences of the listening process by pushing the notion of “immersion” to its possible limits.  She created and produced “immersound” from 2011 to 2015 at Oboro in Montreal.

She was a finalist at the Sonic Arts Awards 2014 (IT) in the Sonic Research category.  In January 2013, the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) awarded the prestigious Opus Prize for Concert of the year to France Jobin for her concert at AKOUSMA 8.

Jobin’s work continues to evolve as technologies enable her to create new environments.

France Jobin is published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd