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 wave guides for messages sent from point A to point B.

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.

Timeline

Workshop on Experimental broadcasting Tuesday, December 10, 3PM–9PM @ osmo/za, Slovenska 54, Ljubljana

Digital Dish: presentation of artists-in-residence Tuesday, December 17 @ osmo/za, Slovenska 54, Ljubljana

Exhibition December 17-20, 3PM-9PM @ Miklošičev park, 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.

Produkcija: Ljudmila, laboratorij za znanost in umetnost in Zavod Projekt Atol.

Rezidenco sta podprla Ministrstvo za kulturo in Mestna občina Ljubljana – Oddelek za kulturo. Rezidenca je del mreže EASTN-DC, ki je sofinancirana s strani Evropske Unije, program Ustvarjalna Evropa.