Sarah Grant & Danja Vasiliev: LANscapes
About the residency
LANscapes is a research project into how one can work with the preexisting infrastructure found within a given environment for creating and deploying communication networks. Building upon the common natural phenomenon such as (and not only) radio, electromagnetism, acoustics in combination with elevations, forestation, (known and unknown) geodesic anomalies of a local terrain, the project aims to determine a set of possible solutions for creating local area networks (LANs) for communicating digital forms of information within a certain unmodified landscape. Trees, plants, rhizomatic root systems, bodies and streams of water could become antennae, signal leads and waveguides for messages sent from point A to point B.
The expected outcome of LANscapes research is a collection of low tech technological solutions and methodologies for working with a given natural environment. Such a technique could become a useful tool for disaster relief, rural network deployment and last but not least understanding of the environment we find ourselves surrounded by.
Gallery
Photo: Katja Goljat
Timeline
Workshop on Experimental broadcasting
Tuesday, December 10, 3PM–9PM @ osmo/za, Slovenska 54, Ljubljana
Digital Dish: LANscapes, performance-lecture
Wednesday, December 18, 7.30PM @ osmo/za, Slovenska 54, Ljubljana
About the artists
Sarah Grant is an artist and educator. She is a former artist-in-residence of the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center and is currently a Technical Lead at The Barbarian Group and Adjunct Professor at NYU Polytechnic in Digital Media. Her work explores both the practical and expressive properties of wireless networks for connecting people who are in close
proximity to each other in order to encourage participation within their immediate
geographical location. Sarah has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from the University
of California at Davis and a Masters degree from the Interactive Telecommunications
Program at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
Danja Vasiliev is a Berlin-based Russian artist and Critical Engineer. He studies systems and networks through anti-disciplinary experimentation with hardware, firmware and software. Using computational platforms, he engages in the examination and exploitation of
system and network paradigms in both the physical and digital realms. Based on these
findings, he creates and exhibits works of Critical Engineering. Since 1999, Vasiliev has been
involved in computer-technology events, media-art exhibitions and seminars around the
world. He has received several awards and mentions at Ars Electronica, Japan Media Art
Festival and transmediale, among others. In October 2011, together with Julian Oliver and
Gordan Savičić, he co-authored the “Critical Engineering Manifesto”. He gives public
workshops and talks as well as regularly teaches courses on network insecurity, software/OS
modification, hardware re-engineering, digital forensics and other technology related
subjects.
Production: Ljudmila, Art and Science Laboratory and Projekt Atol Institute.
The residency and the workshop were made possible with support from the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Public Administration, Municipality of Ljubljana, Department for Culture and JSKD – Public Fund for Cultural Activities.The project is part of EASTN-DC, which is co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
