Born in Hull, Quebec in 1968, Alexandre Castonguay studied at the University of Ottawa (B.F.A. 1991 and B.A. 1993) and at Concordia University, Montreal (M.F.A. 2004). He currently teaches at the University of Ottawa. His practice is based in digital art, and his works uses both obsolete technology and open source software. This choice provides a perspective on the artistic uses as well as on the discourse (both artistic and corporate) surrounding media art and the commercialization of the tools with which it is normally practiced. His critical point of view was informed by his role as a foundinand active member of the not-for-profit media lab Artengine, that seeks to explore the artistic potential of new technologies while addressing concerns of inequality of access to media tools. His recent works occupy the uneasy space between the exploitation and criticism of media art practices. Works he judges as successful display a closed logical loop while inviting the viewer into an apparently open system.
Elements, a recent installation, was shown at the Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal in 2006. His interactive installation Digitale was shown at the Digital and Video Art Fair (2005), Medienkunstlabor in Graz, Austria, during the PureData Convention in 2004, at Pierre-Franهois Ouellette Art Contemporain (2003), and at the Ottawa Art Gallery (2003). Other works and photographs have been shown in Canada and abroad.