Creatures in a Series of Tubes

Which is the chain reaction being triggered by our every single online reaction? What are the limits of human existence in the digital world? The Onassis Stegi virtual exhibition, “Creatures in a Series of Tubes,” will try to answer these questions through a series of artworks that were created as part of the European Media Art Platform (EMAP).

Ecosystems are brimming with human activity, no matter whether we observe behind screens, from the tired and wired routine of our quarantined activities. In fact, through the “Series of Tubes” our reach is far, and not only towards others of our species appearing in our zooming panels.

In our supposed physical absence, the natural environment never had any rest, as the flows of energy and waste we have established continue without interruption to sustain our increasing demands. Our every action “online” creates a chain of actions with physical implications, in history-old ecosystems of creatures and algorithms, biology and economics interlocked. The impact of anthropos on the planet has been called the “Antropocene” based on our imprint, but what lies beyond?

Through artists’ narratives, such complex structures become apparent and our understanding of them is challenged. These selected works by resident artists of the European Media Art Platform have researched our connection to other species, our impact on remote ecosystems, and the emergence of uniquely complex ecosystems of humans and algorithms. Most importantly, they give us permission to dream of a different world, to consciously engage with our existence in the future.

About Mozilla Hubs

Hubs is a Virtual Reality (VR) tool, for connecting with people from around the internet in virtual events. Hubs runs on most modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox etc.), mobile, desktop, and VR devices.

Mozilla has ended support for Mozilla Hubs on May 31st, 2024.

When the algorithms' dreams become the humans' future

Participating Artists & their works

“Beyond Human Perception” by María Castellanos (ES) & Alberto Valverde (ES)
“FANGO” by Martin Nadal (ES)
“The Eye of the Other” by Tiziano Derme (AT), Daniela Mitterberger (AT)
“The Hidden Life of an Amazon User” by Joana Moll (ES)
“aqua_forensic” by Robertina Šebjanič (SI), Gjino Šutić (HR)
"#MEMEMANIFESTO" by Clusterduck Team: Tommaso Cappelletti (IT), Silvia Dal Dosso (IT), Francesca Del Bono (IT), Jules Durand (FR), Arianna Magrini (DE) & Nicolaus Noel (FR)

Parallel Events

Thursday 26 November <br> 18:00 (UTC+2)

Presentation of "FANGo" by Martin Nadal

Saturday 5 December <br> 18:00 (UTC+2)

Presentations and Group Discussion with the Artists

Robertina Šebjanič (SI), Gjino Šutić (HR): "aqua_forensic"
Martin Nadal (ES): "FANGo"
María Castellanos (ES), Alberto Valverde (ES): "Beyond Human Perception"
Clusterduck Team: Tommaso Cappelletti (IT), Silvia Dal Dosso (IT), Francesca Del Bono (IT), Jules Durand (FR), Arianna Magrini (DE) & Nicolaus Noel (FR): "#MEMEMANIFESTO"
Tiziano Derme (AT), Daniela Mitterberger (AT): "The Eye of the Other"

The event will take place in English.

Live artists’ talks through Zoom platform will be open to the public, upon registration. All talks will be recorded and made available at Onassis Stegi’s Vimeo and YouTube channels.

Sunday 6 December <br> 18:00 (UTC+2)

"FANGo" Workshop with the artist Martin Nadal

"FANGo" is a defense weapon against surveillance capitalism. Disguised as a mobile phone charger, a microcontroller takes control of the smartphone in which it is plugged in. Making queries to Amazon, Google, and other search engines, uploading videos on YouTube, liking random photos on Instagram, it aims to deceive data brokers, and disrupt the data capturing process.

In this two-part workshop, the artist will introduce participants to the concept of surveillance capitalism and how it works, and he will present examples of works from other artists who examine similar ideas through their work.

In the second part, the group will discuss the technical aspects of the "FANGo" device, and the participants will have the chance to replicate one using their own Raspberry Pi, under the artist’s guidance.

Each participant will need:

A smartphone
A USB cable
A Raspberry Pi. Alternatively, a Linux or OSX computer (with Homebrew software installed).

The workshop will be conducted in English.

The online workshops through Zoom platform will be open to the public; those willing to participate should send an application with a letter of interest. Participants will be selected upon their letter of interest.

About EMAP

The Onassis Stegi continues to support artistic practices positioned between art, science and technology through its participation, along with ten other partners, in The European Media Art Platform (EMAP). The platform provides up-and coming media artists working in the fields of visual and digital arts, design, film, sound or video with the chance to participate in 2-month residencies and to create new works to be presented at festivals and other events in partner countries.

Credits

Curated by
Christos Carras, Prodromos Tsiavos, Heracles Papatheodorou, Katerina Varda
Organized by
Heracles Papatheodorou, Katerina Varda, Vera Petmeza