Portraits 2024 by Oiiwa

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games brought together thousands of athletes and fans from around the world. Portraits 2024 is a data visualization exhibition held amid the festivities and competitions.

The project was conceived in 2023, emerging from the collaboration between Blandine Pont, a French judo team member and artist, and Jeremy Wanner, a data scientist at the French National Institute of Sport. Together, they came up with the idea of combining data-science and elite sport in a data-visualization exhibition for the general public, with the aim of creating an experience designed to unveil the hidden dimensions of iconic athletes in an engaging, creative way.

Thirteen renowned French athletes agreed to join the adventure. Through a series of questions covering both professional and personal themes, athletes provided responses—at times involving drawing. This blend of quantitative and qualitative data highlighted their unique personalities and experiences.

Each response was associated with a specific shape, and the combination of these shapes, paired with the athletes' drawings, formed a distinctive visual identity for each participant. These digital portraits were animated, then brought to life in the physical world through the art of tufting—a technique using wool. Finally, the resulting work was combined with the athletes' gear to emphasize the deep connection between them and their sports outfits.

During the Games, thirteen portraits were exhibited in iconic locations in Paris. Remarkably, the athletes featured in the project collectively won eight medals, including four golds, underscoring their talents both on and off the field.