An Exhibition by Tristan Heintz

Digital
Fossil

MediumReclaimed circuitry, mixed
Year2024 — ongoing
LocationStudio Heintz, Zürich

Where the silicon falls silent, a quieter intelligence remains — geometry, residue, the architecture of thought itself.

Enter ↓
Room 01 — West Wall Bone & Mechanism
Diptych of cream-toned mechanical components
№ 01

Cascade, in Two Movements

Diptych · gears, pulleys, ribbon cables · 2024

Components that once turned and translated motion are arrested mid-fall — a pile and a perfect mosaic, side by side. The same parts, two destinies.

Reassembled circuit board on black ground
№ 02

Tectonic

Single panel · printed circuit, capacitors · 2024

A board cleaved and rejoined. The fault line speaks of what continues to function even when broken — and what does not.

Small figure formed from circuit components in gilded frame
№ 03

Saint of the Disconnected

Reliquary · ribbon cable, PCB, antique frame · 2024

A small icon, no larger than a hand, framed in gilt. Devotion to the obsolete; tenderness for the unplugged.

Room 02 — East Wall After the Current
Vertical bone-white striations on dark ground
№ 04

Code, Silenced

Relief · disassembled keyboard mechanisms · 2024

Rows of keys, severed from their letters. What remains is rhythm — a barcode of intent, a music without grammar.

Cluster of black integrated-circuit boards
№ 05

Constellation, Powered Down

Single panel · IC boards, matte black · 2024

A sky of small islands. Each holds a calculation it can no longer perform. Together they form something like a thought, or its outline.

White-on-white relief of camera and circuit
№ 06

Apparition

Relief · plaster, embedded shutter · 2024

An image-making device, made invisible. The lens still watches; the rest has dissolved into the wall.

Room 03 — South Wall Density & Singularity
Burst pattern of capacitors on black field
№ 07

Big Bang, in Components

Single panel · capacitors, resistors · 2024

From a dense core, the parts disperse. Cosmology rendered in surplus — the beginning, or the end, of an electronic universe.

Six amber relays in a horizontal line
№ 08

Six Witnesses

Single panel · relays, contact pins · 2024

Six identical units, arranged with the patience of a ritual. The amber catches what little light remains. They are waiting for a signal that will not come.

Glowing green circuit board
№ 09

Last Pulse

Illuminated panel · PCB, phosphorescent finish · 2024

The board glows from within, as though recalling its old function. Phosphorescence as memory — an afterglow of computation.

Room 04 — North Wall Vessel & Vestige
Bowl of small electronic parts in vitrine
№ 10

Reliquary

Vitrine · glass bowl, mixed components · 2024

Screws, springs, lenses, pins — the small bones of devices, held in glass. A specimen jar for an extinct species.

Vertical assemblage of black components forming abstract figure
№ 11

Standing Figure

Single panel · transformers, heat sinks, mixed · 2024

An almost-anatomy. Heat sinks for legs, a transformer where a heart might be. The parts have not forgotten how to gather into a body.

Three-panel triptych of dismantled black electronics
№ 12

Triptych for a Dead Machine

Triptych · disassembled chassis, mixed circuitry · 2024

The three panels read like an altarpiece. Each holds the remains of one machine — its power, its logic, its skin — laid out for veneration.

An artistic
manifesto.

I. Genesis

In an age where digital technology permeates every aspect of our lives, Digital Fossil emerges as a body of work that recontextualises the very essence of digital components, turning them into artefacts of aesthetic contemplation.

II. Philosophy

The physical forms of computer chips represent the zenith of human complexity in manufacturing. Yet their true essence is ethereal — residing in the software they enable. Operational, they are vibrant. Deprived of energy and connectivity, they become relics: inutile yet strikingly complex.

This dichotomy underlines the transient nature of technology and the enduring quest for meaning in the digital era. Digital Fossil seeks to capture this fleeting essence, transforming it into a tangible, perpetual form.

III. Alchemy

The creation process is an abstract alchemy of technology and art. A delicate interplay of light and shadow, form and function — capturing the complex beauty of circuitry in a way that transcends its original purpose.

Portrait of the Artist

Tristan Heintz

A melding of scientist, artist, and entrepreneur. Born in France, residing in Zürich, Heintz holds a PhD in Systems Neuroscience from Cambridge University. His journey is marked by an unrelenting pursuit of understanding and redefining the boundaries between technology and human perception.

His work reflects a unique blend of scientific rigour and artistic intuition. Heintz's deep understanding of neural systems parallels his exploration of the aesthetics of technology — making each piece not only visually captivating but intellectually stimulating.

BornFrance
StudioZürich, CH
EducationPhD, Cambridge
FieldSystems Neuroscience