Everything Saved Will Be Lost, the motto of the installation and the paraphrase of Nintendo video game systems shutdown screen, emphatically points out the illusive permanence of digital archives. Our alertness seems switched off, lulled by blind faith in the near-transcendence of “the cloud”, which appears equipped with eternal and inexhaustible memory. What we readily ignore is the fact that the cloud is nothing but millions of physical hard drives stockpiled in data centers, owned by specific corporations and, despite precautionary measures, liable to fail or be hacked. We have decided to visualize this by transforming the digital representation of one’s face (projected on-screen) into real gravel, spilling out behind the screen. This is a reminder to us all that without exception, the ephemeral cloud is likely to disintegrate physically.
panGenerator
panGenerator is a new media art & design collective based in Warsaw, Poland, founded by Piotr Barszczewski (ex-member), Krzysztof Cybulski, Krzysztof Goliński and Jakub Koźniewski. Since 2010 the group has created unique projects exploring new means of creative expression and interaction with the audience. Their works are characterized by blending ephemeral digital realm with physical world. panGenerator blends bits and atoms to create audience-engaging, dynamic and tangible experiences in opposition to typically static, hermetic and unapproachable conventions prevalent to traditional, mainstream “modern art” practice.