Virtual Matter: Metamaterialisations of Computational Processes
The Anthropocene is an era of multiple nested crises in which all species are facing a series of existential challenges. An important and yet underexposed cause of the current predicament we find ourselves in, is the development and expansion of a robust system of information technologies. A constant theme in the work of Spiros Hadjidjanos has been the exploration of the mineral origins of information technology objects and materials. Geo-scientifically, these materials comprise the Technosphere, a crucial component of the Anthropocene. The Technosphere, which covers by now the entire planet and penetrates the depths of nature, can be understood as the result of the spread of the technical object.
Informed by technological processes underlying the Technosphere, this research project starts with the investigation of newly emerging AI algorithms capable of extracting 3D models from single photographs and their potential to disrupt recognizable art-historical categories (more specific those focusing on human representation). For the final step, this project will set up an experimental studio to explore the hitherto little-studied dialectics between light-sensitive chemicals and digital fabrication.