The Aesthetica Art Prize serves as a lens through which we can explore the intricate intersections between art and technology in our modern era. In this roundup, we highlight five artists who embrace emerging technologies as they probe the realms of data, robotics, as well as the climate crisis, and the evolution of organic structures. Whether through thought-provoking installations or interactive experiences, these contemporary artists challenge us to consider our relationship with the digital world.
The Carbon Chronicles | Manifest Data Lab
Manifest Data Lab makes tangible the planet’s atmosphere by showing fossil fuel data. Carbon Chronicles visualises the build-up of CO2 from the industrial revolution to the present. Beginning with the UK in the 1750s, emissions from coal start enveloping the planet. By the late 1800s industrial activity in the Global North is responsible for 92% of CO2. The animation ultimately, asks: who owns the air?
The Breath of Stars | Susan Eyre
Cosmic rays power across the universe with unimaginable energy, striking the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere and shower down upon us. The Breath of Stars is a live digital interaction of this activity realised by London-based Susan Eyre who is driven by curiosity into the mysteries of the universe. The artist seeks to reveal unseen phenomena using scientific systems of enquiry to spark a sense of wonder.
The Umwelt series represents Yoshiyuki Katayama’s inaugural venture into the realms of life and time. In this body of work, he employs the time-lapse technique to capture the evolution of plants, which is then composited with slow-motion insect imagery. The term “umwelt,” derived from German, translates to “environment” or “surroundings,” encapsulating the distinctive realm experienced by individual organisms.
Odyssey is an interactive installation which questions the definitions of virtual space and the illusory aspects of choice and action. Like a video game, Driver’s installation presents an endless hallucinatory dream of an unattainable horizon which the viewer is tasked with reaching. Yet with every action, the dissolving horizon slips further away. Eight television sets emit a nostalgic blue and green glow.
Dreams Again | Emma-Kate Matthews
Emma-Kate Matthews is a multidisciplinary artist, architect and researcher utilising sonic and spatial practices. Her work explores the creative reciprocities between music – as constructed sound – and architecture – as constructed space – through the composition and performance of site-specific projects. She uses digital simulation and three-dimensional scanning to model the acoustic properties of spaces, whilst harnessing digital fabrication techniques to design and make her own instruments.
Feeling inspired? The Aesthetica Art Prize is now open for entries. Submit your work by 31 August. Win £10,000, exhibition and publication. Find out more here.
