Referring to the pioneering work of Nikola Tesla (1856 1943), the exhibition explores the notions of being and desire in a society determined by our bodily immersion within an ubiquitous and omnipresent electromagnetic realm. This is the zone where the physical boundaries between what may be called “organic”, or bodily sensors, and technological constructs intermingle.
Considering the now lengthy history of the cyborg, the electron beam and the warp engine as a cultural concepts, one may wonder whether the distinctions between the natural world and globalised technologies are still valid. These issues were topics of Tesla’s investigations a century ago as he sought to create a new utopian ‘World Society’ fueled by free energy created by the earth’s own natural electromagnetic sphere. The contemporary implications of these observations and predictions in today’s world of wireless detachment and unlimited mobility still present enigmatic research material to both scientists and artists alike.
Electromagnetic Bodies features electronic, interactive and acoustic artworks by Ælab , Jean-Pierre Aubé , Craig Baldwin , Matheusz Herczka, Simone Jones , Marie-Jeanne Musiol , Carsten Nicolai, Paulette Phillips , Catherine Richards , Jocelyn Robert , Daan Roosegaarde David Tomas, Edwin van der Heide and Norman T. White , with commissioned works premiering by Michiel van Bakel with Bill Spinhoven, and Marnix de Nijs .
Electromagnetic Bodies: Aether, Desire and Resonance in Art and Technology is based on the Resonance: Electromagnetic Bodies international touring exhibition initiated and curated by Nina Czegledy and Louise Provencher in Canada , and co-curated by Stephen Kovats and Willie Stehouwer in Rotterdam .