FW Spotlight: Top Submissions of October
Some time ago, we came across a thought from Hito Steyerl: “The more information we have, the less we know,” a notion that feels especially relevant in today’s digital world. Though it may seem straightforward, it holds profound implications. While seemingly paradoxical, this quote taps into the deeper complexities of our data-driven society. Steyerl is not merely cautioning against information overload but rather questioning the nature of reality as mediated through digital technology.
Her work suggests that in an age where media images and information are increasingly manipulated, clarity often becomes elusive. This statement, therefore, speaks to a broader critique: in a landscape saturated with data, discerning the truth becomes an active, often challenging process.
Steyerl’s perspective on art as a medium that “can propose alternatives and challenge existing power structures” further underscores her belief in art’s critical role within society. Here, she invites us to move beyond passive consumption, urging us instead to recognize the deeper narratives at play in the media we encounter daily. Her art not only highlights the disconnect between knowledge and information but also positions itself as a powerful critique of the ways in which contemporary digital culture shapes our collective consciousness.
This month, we’ve selected three of the exhibitions submitted to us, each weaving a complex tapestry of human experience where fire, technology, and the manipulation of nature intersect with the delicate politics of our world. Through a dynamic exploration of pyropolitics, alchemy, and media abstraction, these works traverse multiple layers of time and reality, inviting us to reflect on the impact of human intervention and the profound transformations it ignites.
At the Pochen Biennale 2024, Alisa Berger and Lena Ditte Nissen’s “Ex Oriente Ignis” set the stage for a confrontation with fire—not just as an element but as a force that shapes the material and political world. The exhibition, curated by Serge Klymko, draws upon the ancient metaphor of fire coming from the East, but this fire carries with it the weight of war, specifically Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In the shadow of war’s devastation, the concept of fire becomes a poignant symbol: it is both the destruction of dreams and the remnant heat that might kindle new possibilities. The imagery of Kharkiv and Donbas as smoking landscapes transforms the viewer’s understanding of fire—from a natural spectacle to a tool of political violence. The contrast between the warmth and the burn of fire suggests an existential tension: Europe, standing at a critical distance, is both warmed and seared by the fire from the East, a fire that erodes old systems, marking the Yalta-Potsdam framework as yet another ruin of history. Through multimedia and participatory art, the Biennale becomes a pyre of memory, destruction, and potential rebirth, where the audience navigates through layers of history while the embers of conflict and political action burn hot beneath.
In Leo Pum’s “Sigaldry” at Pluto, Valencia, the metaphorical fire continues to smolder, this time through the lens of alchemy and the transformation of matter. Here, fire is implicit in the act of creation—of technology, machines, and the conversion of Earth’s raw materials into objects that reflect human dominance over nature. The exhibition, curated by Fran Toré and Leandro Mora, explores the tension between technology and nature, using an alchemical narrative to depict the Anthropocene as a geological epoch shaped by human hands. The “living machines” in Pum’s work are the products of a mystical relationship with the Earth, where rocks and mechanical prototypes become symbols of a new material spirituality. Like the ancient smiths who manipulated metals in the forge, today’s technocrats manipulate nature through code and machinery. This industrial alchemy resonates with Mircea Eliade’s theories of transformation and ritual, where technology serves as a modern extension of humanity’s ancient desire to reshape the world. Pum’s “Artificery” evokes a sense of unease, however—the machines may live, but at what cost? The sounds of drills and conveyor belts, captured in the live sound piece by Neutro Gris and Arxénica, suggest a violent interaction with Gaia, the living Earth. The installation reminds us that the fire of transformation, once tamed by humans, now threatens to consume them as the delicate balance between intervention and destruction tips towards the latter.
Meanwhile, in Oskar Pollack and Manuel Rugo’s “3 + 3 = 5” at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, fire becomes a metaphor for the incendiary effects of media on perception and reality. The exhibition challenges the viewer to reconsider the superficial layers of media that obscure deeper truths, referencing contemporary events like the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Here, the objects—such as a coyote fur hat and spear—become charged symbols of media violence, where image-making is no longer an act of documentation but a tool of affective manipulation. Pollack and Rugo dissect the surface of things, questioning the role of media in shaping public consciousness. Their exploration of digital decals and surface treatments reveals how media is both a creator and a destroyer, amplifying superficialities while masking underlying tensions. The phrase “3 + 3 = 5” itself evokes an Orwellian distortion of truth, a reminder that in our current media landscape, reality is often shaped by those who control the narrative. In this context, the fire is not literal but symbolic—an ideological blaze that burns through facts and distorts the world’s surface into something unrecognizable.
Across these exhibitions, fire—whether as a physical, metaphorical, or ideological force—serves as a powerful thread connecting the works. It is the fire of war, technology, and media manipulation that transforms the world, leaving behind relics of what was and what might still be. Through their artistic explorations, Berger, Nissen, Pum, Pollack, and Rugo offer a sobering reflection on the fragility of our systems, reminding us that the distance between warmth and destruction is razor-thin. As we grapple with the consequences of our interventions—whether in the geopolitical, environmental, or media landscapes—these works invite us to confront the fires we have ignited and ask: Will they warm us, or will they burn us alive?
fakewhale
Founded in 2021, Fakewhale advocates the digital art market's evolution. Viewing NFT technology as a container for art, and leveraging the expansive scope of digital culture, Fakewhale strives to shape a new ecosystem in which art and technology become the starting point, rather than the final destination.
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