The Swarm
At the core of "r = θ," mathematics emerges as a unifying language, harmonizing diverse perspectives. This video art piece explores the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns in nature. My work not only reveals these underlying geometric patterns but also invites viewers to reconsider their points of view.
Through this piece, I delve into the human inclination to seek shapes and significance in the world, especially within the context of natural phenomena, prompting a deeper exploration of our cognitive processes and their nature. "r = θ" guides the audience through simulations of the golden ratio, the choreography of weather patterns, the behaviors of insects like moths and butterflies, and the mesmerizing murmurations of starlings.
Celebrating the promise of art and technology, this work embraces both the digital and the physical realms. It examines settled assumptions and encourages reflection on the influences that shape our approach to reality. As you engage with this video, let the questions it raises linger in your thoughts: How has this artwork transformed your perception of the world? What significance do replicas and authenticity hold for our understanding of life? What further mysteries await discovery at the frontier of realities?
The Wrench at Krupa Art Foundation,
Wrocław Poland
Photos/Videos by Alicja, Pełna
curator: Monika Łuszpak Skiba
venue: KAF Digital, floor -1 / Krupa Art Foundation
date: 13 July – 20 October 2024
Inspired by Wojciech Fangor’s work, the immersive projections accompanying the exhibition explore his concept of “positive illusory space” using contemporary digital media. Referring to Fangor’s fascination with movement and space, which constituted the basis for his work in 1961–1973 and for optical art as such, the show introduces the context of our perception of space in the age of multimedia art.
“Contemporary painting should correspond to the contemporary concept of space. Today the mystery is located elsewhere than in the past. Today there is no contrast between man as a closed, finite personality and the finite and closed construction of a painting. Construed in this way, man and painting have little to say to each other. It seems to me that today more than ever the individual is aware of his dependence on the environment and the relativity of his position. I am interested in how to make art in the face of these changes.[1]”
Fangor’s frequent references to space-time (internal and external, or real and illusory) have now been updated to include digital and virtual space, accessible through an immersive experience composed of animations that relate to the featured paintings.
The choice of artists resonates with Fangor’s American dream – all the creators of the projections dedicated to the painter live and work in America (Z. Liberman, Y. Sodeoke, K. Yoneda in North America, M. Montane in South America).
MoMAR: Root Access - The Flood - Multiplied
ARTISTS:
Chia Amisola
Yoshi Sodeoka
Once again challenging MoMA's physical space and its limitations, internet artists Chia Amisola (b. in Manila, Philippines) and Yoshi Sodeoka (b. in Yokohama, Japan) are transforming the museum and its artworks by covering them with billboard posters and bright orange spiders. The exhibition title, ROOT ACCESS, refers to the highest level of administrative clearance within a computer system and gestures towards the artists' mischievous impulse, effectively hacking the visitors' art experience at MoMA.
Using the MoMAR v5 app, visitors can switch between two artworks: CONGRATULATIONS! PAMPLONA PARK SUBDIVISION by Amisola and The Flood - Multiplied by Sodeoka. On-screen, the real space of the museum vanishes behind either sales posters, advertisements, and lease announcements collected from Google Street View of Las Piñas, Philippines, or under gloomy, animated spiders of various sizes against a black background.
Amisola’s installation features the peaceful sound of birds chirping, evoking a stroll through the sunny town of Las Piñas, as posters from trucks, storefronts, and billboards pile up on the screen. After a few seconds, the viewers find themselves ensconced in a large advertising campaign guaranteeing the best deals. By overlaying MoMA's space with a visual reality from the other side of the globe, Amisola confronts us with the everyday visual impressions that shape life elsewhere. Critically reflecting on and challenging the idea of a curated space, Amisola hints at how powerful the narratives constructed by a collection can be in shaping our perception of a canon, and how commerce is intrinsically linked to the idea of culture serving the public.
Sodeoka creates a comparably invasive experience with his animation of spiders wriggling up the walls and ceilings of MoMA. Accompanied by a sound like shuffling playing cards, the orange spiders spread epidemically on a silky black background, subtly allowing the real space to shine through. The spider, a confounding yet astute symbol, represents both cunning and technical skill. Spider webs, the spider's essential tool for survival, symbolize not only the spider's home but also a trap for its prey. Created by Sodeoka but possessing a feral agency, the spiders cling to the artworks, highlighting their vulnerability in a ruthless but artificial nature, where only the strong, seemingly invincible walls of a museum can guarantee their survival and visibility.
Amisola and Sodeoka transform not only the walls and ceilings of MoMA but also the artworks and visitors into a vast projection screen. Having root access gives one the ability to execute any command, often equated with "superuser" privileges, allowing the user to bypass all security restrictions and effectively become the system's administrator. Both artists control the projected space by entirely covering it with animations as they navigate the exhibition rooms. Like tarpaulins, the animations overshadow any curatorial concept the museum intended, denying their interaction with the spectator. Artworks in museums are animated by human perception and seem pointless without it. Amisola and Sodeoka challenge our emotional interaction with art by forcing us to witness its disappearance and replacement. The tension between volatility and stability is a prominent theme in both artworks, as the transformation of the space creates a paradox. While the altered space denies interaction and silences dialogue with the artworks, it is only brought to life through human engagement and opens up a new interactive dimension beyond the physical realm.
Text written by Meral Karacaoglan
Video 2023
The Flood
Yoshi Sodeoka’s two latest series, The Flood: Orchestrated and The Flood: Chaos consist of code-based simulations that juxtapose the organic behavioural patterns of spiders with the inorganic nature of algorithmic animation. While each generative spider in The Flood: Orchestrated is custom coded with unique parameters, those in The Flood: Chaos are governed by randomised behaviours generated by diverse parameters, symbolising both the inherent behaviours biological encoded within nature as well as the unpredictability that proliferates within the natural world. The resulting videos fluctuate between ballets and battles, with predator and prey struggling interminably in 13-second loops.
Watch the whole series on Verse
Video 2023
Wetware - Membrane I
Wetware - Membrane is a new subset of Yoshi Sodeoka’s ongoing Wetware series inspired by the concept of a ‘wetware’ computer, a self-organizing machine composed of organic matter.
Watch the whole series on Foundation