Experimenta Speak to Me is an invitation to consider what it means, at this time, to be together.
Our ability to communicate with each other anywhere, all of the time – ultimate interconnectivity – has been with us for some time. In a rapidly changing technological field, how do we now consider these new relationships to the world, technology and each other? What does this connectedness now offer us? Visitors and participants will be inspired to investigate this question as they enjoy the work in the Biennial.
The exhibition features significant Australian and international artists, and has a focus on the Asia Pacific region. The exhibition extends out from RMIT Gallery to travel along the spine of Swanston St, where visitors will encounter a number of key venues across the City of Melbourne, culminating at Federation Square where there will be a new work from artists Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries commissioned by Federation Square and Experimenta for the big screen.
The main exhibition space is centred at RMIT Gallery and will feature up to eighteen works, fourteen of which are being premiered to Australian audiences.
One of the key international artworks selected for Experimenta Speak to Me is the Australian premier of a site-specific installation by internationally renowned Taiwanese artist Shih Chieh Huang. Huang creates installations that merge common, store-bought artificial materials and dissected electronics to create interactive, organic living environments and sculptures that often feature vivid, phosphorescent lighting systems.
Artists presenting at RMIT Gallery
Ryoko Aoki and Zon Ito (Japan), Sylvie Blocher (France), Natalie Bookchin (USA), Christopher Fulham (Australia), Johan Grimonprez (Belgium), Shih Chieh Huang (Taiwan), Hiroshi Ishiguro (Japan), Tristan Jalleh (Australia), Eugenia Lim (Australia), Jess MacNeil (Australia), Wade Marynowsky (Australia), Archie Moore (Australia), Kate Murphy (Australia), Dominic Redfern (Australia), Nina Ross (Australia), Scenocosme (France), Nobuhiro Shimura (Japan), Soda_Jerk (Australia), Charlie Sofo (Australia), Grant Stevens (Australia), Kenji Suzuki (Japan), Katie Turnbull (Australia), Takayuki Yamamoto (Japan).
Hiroshi Ishiguro – Telenoid
Alongside the Experimenta exhibition program are a number of public programs and events. A highlight will be demonstrations by Japanese master roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro. Telenoid is an empathetic device that crosses boundaries across science, robotics, design and telecommunication. Ostensibly a telephone that operates through Skype mechanisms, Telenoid offers a substitute to physical intimacy- the robot nods and hugs, mimicking human movement.
Visitors to Experimenta Speak to Me will be able to experience Telenoid at RMIT Gallery and decide for themselves – is this a merely therapeutic device, or does this robot bridge the gap?
Lights Contacts
Scenocosme, a French art collective, use the human instrument on a large scale in this interactive and sensory artwork. Lights Contacts is a joyful and surprising interactive artwork, designed for participation by two people or more. Bodies will become the conductors for lights and sounds in the space at RMIT Gallery. This sensory installation is tactile, luminous and sound based.
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Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro discusses his latest work – Telenoid, as part of Experimenta Speak To Me, 5th International Biennial of Media Art.
