Hors du temps

Mouawad + Laurier, with Art Explora · 2023 · Centre Robert Doisneau Paris, Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, Lille University Hospital

Our role Concept, tracking, generative visuals, sound, installation.

The present moment as a living artwork. Simply by being there, visitors create a moving picture and evolving music. No instructions, no prerequisites: anyone can draw and compose the music, whatever their motor or communication abilities.

A depth sensor follows every movement in the room. We designed the generative image, the interactive music and the integration into places of care: a screen, a sensor, a small computer, and the installation runs on its own, every day, with no dedicated staff. Made for children, families and carers, it works just as well in a waiting room as in a corridor.

Hors du temps turns hospital waiting rooms and corridors into places of contemplation and play. Permanent at the Centre Robert Doisneau of the OVE Foundation in Paris since June 2023 and at the Sant Joan de Déu children’s hospital in Barcelona since December 2023, where it welcomes children in outpatient palliative care. Lille University Hospital in 2026, then Bordeaux University Hospital. Presented at Museum Connections 2026.

To programme this artwork: mouawadlaurier.com

Credits

• Artists Mouawad + Laurier
• Interactive music Cyril Laurier
• Technical development Joan Sandoval
• Production Noémie Ganem (It Is Now), Fanny Fortage
• Patronage Art Explora

Venues

• Centre Robert Doisneau, OVE Foundation, Paris, since June 2023
• Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, Barcelona, since December 2023
• Lille University Hospital, 2026
• Bordeaux University Hospital

Testimonials

• “We are convinced that therapy alone does not sum up the solutions we owe our patients. We have a duty to bring together every contributing energy, and artistic energies are part of it, to go beyond care and help improve patients’ lives.” Laure Boquet

Press

• “In this gigantic hospital, one of the largest in Europe, we installed Hors du temps, an immersive production created by Maya Mouawad and Cyril Laurier: an interactive device coupled with an LED screen captures the movements of the young patients and the digital work comes alive with their gestures, turning them into both actors and spectators. Witnessing the immediate joy it brings, the relief of the parents, the wholehearted support of the medical staff, all of this, on that exceptional morning, filled us with pride.” Frédéric Jousset, founder of Art Explora, L’Eau, l’air et l’art, Gallimard, 2026
• Art Explora, “It Is Now: art for children in hospital”

Photos

Updated November 11, 2026