Tangible Cloud gathered thirty people from different backgrounds (artists, designers, philosophers, economists, etc.) in two worksessions, which took place in May and June 2022 in Brussels. Together, they tried to imagine, through artistic practices, counter-narratives to the mainstream vision of digital: cloud computing.
A set of interviews was conducted with all participants in December 2023, follwing the worksessions, and a resitution of all the production was set in March 2023, at the KBK Gallery in Brussels.
This project was supported by ÉSA Le 75 and FRArt. It was initiated by Alex Leray, Antoine Gelgon, Romain Marula and Marianne Plano.
SAY YES TO GRAVE!, video, interactive phone, installation, exhibited at WHA Gallery, Kunstuniversität, Linz, 2021
Be? Here? Now?
Workshop
Be? Here? Now? explores the nature of new forms of hybrid human existence in the technological age. The discourse on this topic tends to split into two opposing directions: the desire for total technological disengagement and the willingness to embrace the world of innovation unreservedly and naively.
Through a collection of resources assembled into a single website and displayed in the setting of a spatially elusive office space, “Be? Here? Now?” speaks to the emergence of mindfulness culture, specifically the emphasis it places on a "presentness" of consciousness mediated through technology. Through a collection of materials and reenactments presented on the website and inspired by the kitsch design of the 1990s and early 00s, the project creates a humorous collective reflection that is ultimately questioning what it means to have a "real" relationship in which one is "present".
Be? Here? Now?, website, video, installation, produced and exhibited at Kampnagel, Hamburg, 2022
Contributions made at Technological Myths
The real truth about data centers
Big tech companies want us to think our information is stored in "computers" in big buildings called "data centers" but we're here to tell you what's really going on.
‘The real truth about data-center’ by Celo and Antoine Gelgon, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.
AiA Zoom Meeting
Siri, Google Translate, Open Pilot... they all have feelings too! Haven't you heard AI is sentient? I bet now you're wondering what they could possibly be feeling. Well, this video will give you a glimpse into that world.
‘AiA Zoom Meeting’, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.
Be? Here? Now?, installation, Tangible Cloud at KBK, March 2023.
JCOIN
Faith and money are not to be antigonised anymore. JCOIN (JC) is your safest bet to get closer to God. Join our community of faithful forward-thinking christians and own your own piece of the Son.
‘Merry Kloudo’, Poster by Alex Leray, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.
About
Dasha Ilina is a Russian techno-critical artist based in Paris, France. Through the employment of low tech and DIY approaches her work highlights the nebulous relationship between our desire to incorporate modern technologies into our daily lives and proposed social imperatives for care of oneself and others. Her practice engages the public in order to facilitate a space for the development of critical thought regarding our modern day relationships, privacy in the digital age, and the reflexive contemporary desire to turn to technology for answers. She is also the co-director of NØ SCHOOL, a summer school that focuses on critical research around the social and environmental impacts of information and communication technologies.
SAY YES TO GRAVE!, video, interactive phone, installation, exhibited at WHA Gallery, Kunstuniversität, Linz, 2021
Be? Here? Now?, website, video, installation, produced and exhibited at Kampnagel, Hamburg, 2022
Be? Here? Now?, installation, Tangible Cloud at KBK, March 2023.
‘JCOIN’, Pamphelet by Romain Cazier, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.
‘JCOIN’, Pamphelet, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.
‘Merry Kloudo’, Poster by Alex Leray, Be? Here? Now?, Technological Myths, June 2022.