close encounter
Jan Georg Glöckner (DE)

Living sculpture (2019) The work displays a fungus living in a 90 liter bioreactor. In the bioreactor the fungus is kept alive by an artificial life support system that supplies it with the water, sugar, and oxygen that are its basic needs. The fungus adapts to this system and transforms its body into round pellets that are submerged into the liquid. The bodily presence of the fungus in the bioreactor offers humans the chance to observe and to reflect about so-called “natural” and artificial habitats.

Guest Projects

Like every year at the Ars Electronica Festival, there is a series of exciting Guest Projects taking place at various locations in Linz, ranging from contributions by local art and cultural initiatives to works by artists from all over the world.

Immersify: Immersive Ambisonic Audio
Maciej Glowiak (PL), Maciej Jaskiewicz (PL), Leszek Nowak (PL), Wojciech Raszewski (PL), Jan Skorupa (PL), Eryk Skotarczak (PL)

Experimental ambisonic space combined with VR: The installation is built of 24 independent loudspeakers, which come together to create a sphere. Visitors have the opportunity to stand in the center of the area, wear VR goggles and take part in two different music sessions.

Musiktheater Workshop: Fragments | a digital Freischütz
CyberRäuber (DE)

Opera up close, eye to eye with the main characters: Max must prove himself with a masterly shot to gain the hand of Agathe, the head forester's daughter, and so become his successor. Doubting his skills as a marksman, Max accepts the help of Kaspar, who sold his soul to the devil, to cast seven magic bullets: six of them hit anything the shooter wants, the last one will be directed by the devil...

Introduction to Posthuman Aesthetics
Mindaugas Gapševičius (LT/DE)

Installation with devices and videos (2016-2019) These toolkits invite their users to carry out scientific experiments on a DIY level and be able to introduce their simplified, accessible versions to a broader community. The prerogative is to render and outline methods for independent research, opening the black box of empirical experiments to individuals across disciplines. Whether framing the discussion of political, economical, or cultural issues, the toolkits question the creativity of non-humans and do not presume humans to be the only creative force at work.

Theatre in the Digital Age

As an artistic platform for creation, innovation and collaboration, the European Theatre Convention initiated the project European Theatre Lab – Drama goes digital in 2016. This year for the third time, Ars Electronica and ETC collaborate in a symposium with discussion, a hands-on VR workshop by the CyberRäuber and their Fragments | a digital Freischütz, a virtual reality opera in four episodes.

Thoughts on Day and Night
Maike Alisha Effenberg (DE)

By extending mechanical models from the 60s, you will find here a new approach towards nature and ecosystems. Contemplate the equality of the energy flow within a machine and within an organism. Both receive their energy from the light, react to it, and save it for processes at night. At least, this is what we think they do. So how much life do we find in a machine and how much construction do we find in nature?

microplastic_hyperobject
Maria Degand (FR/DE), Leon-Etienne Kühr (DE)

Numbers and graphs are the essence of most scientific papers. They try to describe the world, facts, and problems. Microplastics are one of these problems. This artistic research is an example of how people can literally be put in these graphs. It looks at the real problem particle in this particle system. The design of experimental research is set up to simulate the experience of the hyperobject in virtual reality. Experiments on the scale in virtual reality and about connections in virtual space.

Drosophila Karaoke Bar
Ursula Damm (DE)

Drosophila Karaoke Bar invites visitors to establish a direct exchange with fruit flies through a technical interface that invites visitors to talk and sing with the flies.

Humus, Humanity & Humility
Julian Chollet (DE)

Humus is more important than art, money, or success. Humanity depends on intact ecosystems and fertile soil. Humility and responsibility will help our species survive.