HACKERS, MAKERS, THINKERS

The workshop Khipu Dialogues takes place in the context of the group exhibition Hackers, Makers, Thinkers and the interdisciplinary international conference of the same name. The workshop is an open conversation about Constanza’s khipu research, the uncertainty of the past and a ritualistic connection with the ancient technologies of South America. Starting at Art Laboratory Berlin the group will later on visit the archive of the Ethnological Museum to explore original khipus.

During the Inca Empire, there was an information recording device called khipu. In this system information was knotted in strings and codified in numerical values, following a binary and decimal system. These strings hide a significance that transcends the arithmetic plane and narrates a series of stories about an ancient civilization. They are currently considered as prehispanic computers and their importance lies in their transcendental cosmic significance and the current preservation of the wisdom transmitted from our native peoples in South America.

In the workshop the artist will give an insight into her artistic research project khipu. electrotextile prehispanic computer, in connection to her currently exhibited installation khipu at Art Laboratory Berlin. The workshop can also be understood as a ritual of connection with the original khipus, whose largest collection worldwide is currently to be found at the Berlin State Museums, far from their original territory.

The first part of the workshop will take place in the installation space at Art Laboratory Berlin. During the conversation, we will explore the process of Constanza’s artistic research that began in 2013, which resulted in a textile electromagnetic sound installation, a website, an artist book and several workshops. We will review its references as well as the relationship of the Inca khipus with other ancestral computation and writing systems such as the yupana, the tocapus, Püron/Pron mapuche and the signs of the Inca khipu in relation to the binary code.

In the second part of the workshop, we will connect the contemporary with the ancient: Coming from Constanza’s khipu project, we will visit several original khipus in the archives of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. This visit can be understood as a ritual of connection with ancient technologies of South America.

Constanza Piña Pardo (CL) is a visual artist, dancer and researcher, focused on electronic experimentation, open technologies and social practices. Her work reflects on the role of machines in culture, criticizing capitalism, colonialism and techno-patriarchy systems. Interested in recycling, handicrafts, and electronic wizardry, her work reflects on the role of machines in our culture. Constanza embodies the philosophy of open culture, nomadism, technofeminism and electronic anarchy. She is the founder of Cyborgrrrls: TechnoFeminist Meeting in Mexico City. Her work has been part of international festivals and spaces including, Ars Electronica (AT) Pixelache (FI), Hangar, Medialab Prado (ES) Cenart, Centro de Cultura Digital, CCEMX, MedialabMX (MX)Perte de Signal, Studio XX, Eastern Bloc (CA), Museum of Fine Art Boston, Video Sur II (US), LabKillLab (Taiwan).

The workshop is open to all people interested in learning more about pre-Columbian technologies and especially to the South American community of Berlin. Due to the very limited amount of spaces registration is absolutely necessary. Register here!