Hyperconnection
A collaboration between MODAL & Mimi Nguyen, Creative Director of Verse
04/09/2023 to 01/10/2023*
Hyperconnection is an exhibition using the School of Digital Arts (SODA) building at Manchester Metropolitan University as a dynamic canvas, exploring the interplay between the digital world and our city landscape.
Throughout September 2023, featured artists will take over the LED facade screen on the SODA building each week, exploring how technology in the cityscape is shaping and reshaping our identities.
Inspired by the visionary work of Nam June Paik, specifically his ground-breaking Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, this dynamic showcase brings the SODA building in Manchester to life as a platform for contemporary artists to challenge how digital communities influence our everyday lives, in an era defined by hyperconnectivity and digital immersion.
Kerim Safa – Monolith – 04/09/2023 to 10/09/2023
Kerim Safa is a Netherlands-based artist working with pixels and sounds. His artworks often showcase cyclical mechanisms, mathematically-inspired patterns, intricate contraptions, and musical elements – reflecting a fascination in systems and perpetual returns.
Monolith is a work custom made for the Façade of SODA, with a nod to the role of the city landscape in shaping the journey of the individual. Safa’s practice finds primary inspiration in early abstract animations and computer games, incorporating pixel aesthetics, frame-by-frame animation techniques, and a limited color palette.
Gretta Louw – Portal2 – 11/09/2023 to 17/09/2023
Portal2 comes from Louw’s latest body of work, incorporating embroidered paintings, drawings, digital and moving image works. The work explores the passage of time and how our experience of it can be disrupted or dislocated by sudden, profound transformations in technological, political, or city landscapes. In Louw’s thinking, portals exist around us at any given time, representing radical shifts in the material fabric of the lived experience. Functional wormholes, they transport us from one reality, or one state of being or understanding, to another.
*There will be a break on the 14th and 15th of September, when the Façade is in use for conferences and educational partners.
Leander Herzog – Agglo – 18/09/2023 to 24/09/2023
Leander Herzog’s new work delves into the intricate balance between randomness and repetition, constructing and evolving modules over time on a minimalist canvas. Inspired by weaving and printing techniques, it translates linear messages into captivating two-dimensional images, each emerging gradually from the algorithmic process. With a focus on the essential grid, the exploration maintains clarity by sidestepping geometric complexities, resulting in a captivating interplay where emergence and transformation from one-dimensional to two-dimensional remain at the heart of Herzog’s creative endeavor.
Kristen Roos – Cityscapes – 25/09/2023 to 01/10/2023
Kristen Roos’ creative journey delves into the convergence of art, architecture, and technology, envisioning animated cityscapes that bridge the gap between virtual and physical realms. This exploration has led Roos to ponder the profound connection between the viewer’s personal experiences and the multitude of screens that define our contemporary lives. The coexistence of physical and digital landscapes becomes a central theme, prompting reflections on how his art influences and is influenced by both realms.