The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.—-WB Yeats
The creative depiction of animals goes back millennia, describing a shared and often fraught relationship with technology. Animals have become potent symbols through which we can appreciate changing socio-political conditions and interpret philosophies of power, freedom, rational thought, belief and morality.
Extensive research into artificial intelligence or social media inform three extraordinary works by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Matthew Collishaw and Marco Barotti. The works address the evolution of two formidable, hyper-transformative technologies, rooted in the 20th century and now blossoming in the 21st…Artificial Intelligence and Social Media.
Through video & sound, code and robotic installations, we are presented with three animal species. There is a poignancy to these apparitions; the reactive apes, the conditioned pigeons and a critically endangered, northern white rhino. Their behaviour is spellbinding, performative, ritualistic; suggesting an uneasy or dysfunctional association with AI or Social Media. None of the animals may be separated from its host; all are bound to their technology in some way. The works encourage us to reflect on the paradox of technology; tremendous potential (vs) unsettling narratives, observations and data.
ZOOVEILLANCE is an observation on the paradox of technological advancement. These brilliant works encourage us to reflect on a digital world progressively restructured and governed by social media and artificial intelligence. Like the proverbial Canary in a Coal Mine, each work functions as a sort of advance warning system; collecting, monitoring and forecasting our future.
Exhibition Dates: February 18 – May 5, 2024
Learn more at the New Media Gallery website.
Photo : Matthew Collishaw, The Machine Zone, 2019
