Medūza space for contemporary art hosts ‘Parallax’, an exhibition by Berlin-based artist collective Lou Cantor, until October 19.
The show is composed of two seemingly disparate but thematically related parts. In the main exhibition halls, visitors will be greeted by works from The Crystal World series, inspired by J.G. Ballard’s famous novel of the same name. The large-format artworks depict moments of public unrest in North and South America and explore how public perception has been affected by internet technologies, algorithmic manipulation and artificial intelligence. Having lost their original context in seemingly endless loops of communication, these images have been radically disconnected from their direct relationship with their referents. Spread across the information medium and operating simultaneously in a multitude of contradictory narratives, they dilute any distinction between fact and fiction. The repetition and speed of their circulation eventually turns information into noise, overwhelming our ability to perceive reality individually and collectively. In the works on display, these images are interrupted by encrusted amethyst crystals, here reminiscent of the enigmatic virus that crystallized the African continent in Ballard’s novel. In the exhibition, this becomes a metaphor for the paradoxical problems of social and cognitive freedom caused by the increasingly tangible impact of technology on our ability to know.
The second part of the exhibition, displayed in the Medūza’s Videocapsule and the rooms leading to it, is dedicated to video works created especially for this occasion. From different perspectives, they touch on the subtle but fateful psychosocial effects brought about by the application of technology and behavioural sciences. The film “Endless Eye” is a work of speculative poetry that seeks to find a language suitable for an era dominated by synthetic relations. It calls for a re-imagining of the very essence of human-machine interaction in a way that ensures cognitive freedom. Meanwhile, the video works “Unpredictability of Reward” and “Slot Machine” explore the above themes while seeking to engage a younger audience. Drawing on the famous experiments with dogs by the Russian neuroscientist Ivan Pavlov, they tell the story of the origins, implications and challenges of technology and behavioral psychology once it is applied to behaviour modelling strategies and communication technology design. These films have been created as part of an educational programme for shoolchildren that will eventually become part of Meduza’s public programme.
Lou Cantor is an artist collective founded in 2011 in Berlin (currently consisting of Jozefina Chetko and Kolja Glaeser), whose main field of interest is intersubjectivity and interpersonal communication. Lou Cantor’s practice explores the ambiguous minefield of contemporary communication, where medium, message and meaning are constantly bouncing off each other. As part of their expanding field of research, they regularly produce publications for readers and contribute to various publications themselves. Previous exhibitions: “Ars Electronica, Linz; Hypersea, curated by Juliette Desorgues; The Policeman’s Beard is Half Constructed, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn; Spiritual Reality, Decad, Berlin; Fellow Travelers, apexart, NY; Cyborg Dreams, Pitt St, NY; ‘The Labour of Watching’, leto Gallery, Warsaw and OSLO10, Basel; ‘Language and Misunderstanding’, CUNY, NY; ‘Epistemic Excess’, Artists Space, NY; 7th Berlin Biennale and ‘New National Art’, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw.
Photography: Laurynas Skeisgiela
“Parallax I (Funeral Service)”, 171 x 152 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium plate
“Parallax I (Funeral Service)”, 171 x 152 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium plate
“Parallax II (The Candangos)”, 152 x 120 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (The Candangos)”. Amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (The Candangos)”, 152 x 120 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (Piano)”, 145 x 115 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (President Zachary Taylor)”, 125 x 100 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium plate
“Parallax II (President Zachary Taylor)”, 125 x 100 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium plate
“Parallax II (The Flag)”, 152 x 115 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (The Flag)”, 152 x 115 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Parallax II (The Flag)”, 152 x 115 cm, amethyst, shellac ink, UV print on gesso, honeycomb aluminium panel
“Endless Eye”. Video (14’37’)
“Unpredictability of Reward” (2’37”) and “Slot Machine”, (9’50”) 2024, Videocapsule
