With works by:
Heath Bunting, Harmen de Hoop, moddr_, Cornelia Sollfrank, The Yes Men, UBERMORGEN.COM
Opening performance:
Nancy Mauro-Flude: Error_in_Time(v.t_3)
Performed by
[Networked and Local]: ko66, Netwurker_Mez and sister0.
_Error_in_Time(v.t_3)_ is a performance about identity theft. sister0, Ko66 and Netwurker_Mez give us insight into geek space from the perspective of a female hacker. _Error_in_Time(v.t_3) uses sound, literature, performance and live code manipulations to explore the intimate workings of computer/human interfaces, surveillance and social media. During the opening another performance will take place by the Rotterdam lab moddr_
The art of Hacking focuses on the artistic side of hacking. The artists in this exhibition highlight the imperfections of our surroundings and daily lives. The projects subvert, improve on or circumnavigate systems and practices and offer alternatives. Superficially, hacking is often associated with spreading online viruses and other digital attacks. Officially these criminal activities are not really known as hacking, but as ëcrackingí. The real practice of hacking is done based on far more positive and artistic motives. Itís a state of mind and there are elaborate ethical codes within the hacker community.
In short creative hacking combines artistsí technical skills with the optimism to solve problems and the urge to overcome artistic limitations. The basis for these works lies in a technical, online methodology that spreads into the physical world through the tangibility of the artworks.
About the works:
The British artist Heath Bunting gives insight into the networks at play that constitute an identity, like banks, health care and education. By using these different networks Bunting creates new synthetic identities. In his Identity Bureau one can purchase official and legal UK identities. http://irational.org/
The American creative activism duo, a pair of notorious troublemakers The Yes Men (Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno) targets leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else in order to publicly humiliate them, a practice that they call ‘identity correction’. Next to displaying a few projects by The Yes Men, NIMk collaborates on a ‘Yes Lab’ together with the Amsterdam Fringe Festival, the Dutch Theatre Festival, SKOR (Foundation for Art and Public Space), and Partizan Publik. http://theyesmen.org/
The office installation DOUBLETHINK Knowledge Bureau reflects and demonstrates both the Austrian art collective UBERMORGEN.COM’s artistic actionism as well as the necessary tools and rules for any clandestine media hacking operation today. http://www.ubermorgen.com
The Rotterdam based lab moddr_ has hacked digital ‘footprints’ with projects like Web 2.0 Suicide Machine and continues to do so more recently with the Bin Lover project; a new piece by moddr_ residence artist Philipp W. Teister. Bin Lover gives trashed files a new lease of life. The piece cleverly uses the apparent security of desktops, and will be shown alongside a number of related projects. http://moddr.net
The German artist Cornelia Sollfrank presents three works in which art hacking strategies are being used to deconstruct myths about genius, originality and authorship. http://www.artwarez.org
And by using the work by the Dutch artist Harmen de Hoop, you yourself can get started as an activist by copying and spreading pamphlets containing the text ABOLI$H CAPITALI$M NOW! in the public domain. http://www.harmendehoop.nl/
With:
– An artist talk by Heath Bunting, Harmen de Hoop, and moddr_ on Sunday the 11th of September at 15.00 hrs.
– A panel discussion on the subject of hacking moderated by Jaromil and Cecile Landman with Rop Gonggrijp, Karin Spaink, Patrice Riemens and Heath Bunting taking place in October.
– moddr_ presents several workshops within the framework of The Art of Hacking