Fiction and Science
The Fiction / Science research group organizes seminars, publications, and study trips focused on two main themes: aesthetic inquiries into the experience of beauty today and its connections to ecological issues; and artistic production linked to ancestral practices and recyclable materials.
In this project, the research group is fostering collaboration between ÉSADHAR, the École Pratique des Hautes Études – PSL University, the Reykjavik University of the Arts, and the Institut Faire Faces in Amiens. It brings together researchers, artists, and students in an interdisciplinary and international research group.
Belle Morue
The Belle Morue project explores the beauty of living things through a specific research context—Iceland—and a subject of study that may seem unusual at first glance: cod. What if cod could help us rethink our conceptions of beauty? In this research project, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is examined at the intersection of ecological and geographical issues (industrial fishing and the Cod Wars), scientific concerns (medical and biochemical research), aesthetic considerations (redefining the beauty of living things), and artistic expressions (visual art). This project involves a collaboration between ÉSADHAR, EPHE-PSL, the Reykjavik University of the Arts, and the Institut Faire Faces in Amiens. It brings together researchers, artists, and students in an interdisciplinary and international research group.
Group Activities
May 2025
Research group trip to the fjords of western Iceland. Codepunk/Winepunk workshop at the Reykjavik School of Art, with students from Iceland and Rouen.
June 2024
Grant awarded to the Fiction Science group as part of the DGCA’s “RADAR” call for projects and winner of the Chair’s 2024 Beautés vitales grant. The Belle Morue project explores the beauty of living things through a specific research field—Iceland—and a subject of study that seems unusual at first glance: cod. What if cod could help us rethink our representations of beauty?
December 2023
Participation in the Ping-Pong fair, FRAC Amiens. Amélie de Beauffort, an artist invited by Fiction-Science as part of an Erasmus exchange program, wins the Ping Pong Prize for her prints. Purchase by FRAC Amiens of a collection of prints by student Sujin Oh and presentation of the multimedia installation by artist Maddalena Parise, also a guest.
October 2023
Workshop at the Faire Faces Institute for Surgical Research and Training (Amiens). Explorations of cutting-edge technology and interdisciplinary reflection on the face. Lecture by Prof. Bernard Devauchelle, founder of the Faire Faces Institute, in the auditorium of the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts on the affinities between the surgeon’s gaze and the artist’s gaze.
September 2023
Participation in the MAD Fair – FIMINCO Foundation, Romainville, presentation of fanzines and publications by 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-year students participating in the Fiction Science research group at the Rouen campus.
December 2022
Publication of the journal Fiction-Science #00, featuring contributions from established artists and researchers as well as several students from the lab.
October 2022
Workshop on La Gazette du Vimeu with guest Samuel Etienne, a geomorphologist by training and specialist in scientific fanzines.
September 2022
Participation in the 31st Fête de la Science in Ault in connection with the exhibition “Faire les poussières” organized by Samuel Etienne; 13 students participated.