Maurice Benayoun

Maurice Benayoun (born 29 March 1957), also known as MoBen (Chinese: 莫奔), is a French new-media artist, curator, and theorist whose work has been presented internationally in the context of media art and digital culture since the late 1980s. His practice addresses the ways in which emerging technologies influence human perception, social interaction, and contemporary cultural practices.

Benayoun has described his approach as “Open Media,” a term he uses to refer to artistic practices that integrate technological systems, audience participation, and public or networked contexts. His work spans video, computer graphics, immersive virtual reality, internet-based art, performance, EEG, 3D Printing, robotics, artificial intelligence, NFTs, and Blockchain-based based artworks, installations and interactive exhibitions. He is known for large-scale public and urban media projects that engage civic space and participatory processes, often employing data-driven and networked systems to explore relationships between individuals and society.

Since the early 2000s, Benayoun has worked extensively in Asia, contributing to exchanges between Western and East Asian cultural contexts. After spending a decade based in Hong Kong, he has continued his practice and academic activities between Paris and Nanjing.