As
part of the exhibition Nonhuman Subjectivities:Aural
Aquatic Presence - Robertina Šebjanič
Seminar:
Living
Systems | Aquatic Systems
with Robertina Šebjanič, Kat Austen, Regine
Rapp und Christian de Lutz
18. September 2016, 14-18 Uhr
The current exhibition project artistically explores the interplay
and intercommunication between animal and machine while focusing
on the aquatic environment. Within this framework we want to invite
you to our seminar which will theoretically explore these and other
aspects about artistic and scientific methodologies on interspecies
empathy and human-nonhuman companionship.
Robertina
Šebjanic, Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva generator, 2014,
photo by Miha Fras
PRESENTATIONS:
Regine
Rapp Art and Object-Oriented Perception. Reflecting Living Systems
in Contemporary Art
Based on the concept and exhibition series Nonhuman Subjectivities
the presentation will theoretically reflect several artists and
their specific artistic interest in nonhuman agents. Different artistic
strategies will be presented to discuss the manifold aesthetic approaches
to the phenomenon of object-oriented perception. Be it narrative
strategies, aesthetic strategies of immersion, bridging medical
historical phenomena with gender issues, or combining scientific
laboratory and art practices – it is challenging to explore
a variety of artistic approaches towards the nonhuman. The counterlinguistic
turn as well as the concept of cooperative actions can serve as
a useful theoretical ground within the debate.
Berlin based art historian Regine Rapp curates and researches
contemporary art at the intersection of art & science, and the
phenomenon of art & space. She co-founded Art Laboratory Berlin
in 2006, which she co-directs and curates together with Christian
de Lutz since 2009. Exhibition and research topics: Time & Technology,
Synaesthesia, macro/microbiologies and the arts. Recent publication:
Art and the Biological Sublime in the 21st Century (2015).
Robertina Šebjanič Subjectivity and the Aquatocene
The most substantial aims of the audiovisual performance
Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva sonification (2015) are to explore the
phenomena of interspecies communication, sonification of the envi-ronment
and the underwater acoustic/ bioacoustics. Her new installation
Subaquatic / Aquato-cene sound scape (2016) reflects about the immersion
into the underwater acoustic environment and the sound and noise
pollution produced there by human presence. The project explores
the relationship between sound, nature and society and encourages
rethinking the human impact on the (under)water habitat as well
as the establishment and maintainance of safe audio environ-ments
for animals that live in the oceans and seas.
Ljubljana based Robertina Šebjanič is an intermedia
artist whose works address the relationships between art, science
and technology. In recent years, she’s been focusing on living
systems in particular. Her artistic exploratory processes result
in audiovisual performances and sound art, as well as complex submersible
configurations/ installations. http://robertina.net/
Kat Austen Experiments in Interspecies Empathy: The Coral Empathy Device
We have a lot in common with coral. It builds shelter to
protect itself, and lives in symbiosis with microorganisms, which
– like our microbiome – help it to survive. Coral acts
like a steward to much other marine life, providing a home for the
algae with which it lives symbiotically, and creating reefs that
are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Using stewardship
as a common starting point, Kat will discuss her piece The Coral
Empathy Device (2016) in the context of exploring interspecies
empathy through artistic investigations into the marine environment
and human perception. Drawing on an approach that melds together
multiple knowledges, Kat will explain both the conceptual approach
and her methodologies in the research and creation of a piece that
challenges the audience physically to prompt a lived experience
connecting human-in-air and coral-in-water.
Kat Austen is a succession of experiences and an assemblage
of aspirations. She is also a person. She creates artworks and experiences
that explore multiple knowledges, boundaries and authority in an
environmental context. She has a studio in Berlin and lectures at
University College London’s Arts and Sciences BASc, is Artist
in Residence in UCL’s Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences,
and part of the London Creative Network.
Moderated by Christian
de Lutz
Christian
de Lutz, originally from New York and now based in Berlin, is
an artist and curator. His artworks deal with social, political
and cultural themes, with an emphasis on science, technology, migration
and cultural borderlines. He co-founded Art Laboratory Berlin in
2006 and co-directs and curates Art Laboratory Berlin together with
Regine Rapp since 2009. Exhibition and research topics of the last
years: Time & Technology, Synaesthesia, macro/microbiologies
and the arts. Recent publication: Art and the Biological Sublime
in the 21st Century (2015).
