[spectre] PIKSEL21 – "Decoding Black Magic. Interventions in Infrastructure" exhibition, by the Critical Engineering Working Group

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PIKSEL21 – REBOOT ME SOFTLY 
The 19th annual Piksel Festival for Electronic Art and Free Technologies
18th-21st November
Bergen (Norway)


"Decoding Black Magic. Interventions in Infrastructure" exhibition, by
the Critical Engineering Working Group 18th  November-12th December
C. Sundts gaten 40
Bergen (Norway)

RISK OF INFECTION

Forget satanism, church-burning and pig’s blood. That’s all
just Disney.

This year’s Piksel Festival in Bergen is taking place 18th-21st of
November, with the much anticipated "Decoding Black Magic.
Interventions in Infrastructure" exhibition, where the Critical
Engineering Working Group is exposing security breaches on our devices,
in the form of artistic resistance. 

A condom machine dispensing VPNs, a black magic book with incantations
of dark electronic formulae, a crystal ball predicting the future that
steals your biometric data, and talking heads that imitate you in
real-time. These are just some of the installations that Bengt Sjölén
and Danja Vasiliev are presenting as part of the collaboration between
Piksel and the Critical Engineering Working Group. 

In October 2011, together with colleagues Julian Oliver and Gordan
Savičić, Vasiliev co-wrote the ‘The Critical Engineering Manifesto’,
translated in more than 18 languages all over the world. They state
that Engineering is “the most transformative language of our time,
shaping the way we move, communicate and think”. Any technology
represents both a challenge and a threat. 

The Critical Engineering Working Group members are participating
worldwide in seminars and international exhibitions. Some of them have
collaborated with previous Piksel festivals. Now they are all back
together presenting a major exhibition and a public encounter in
Bergen. 

The exhibition comprises five installations, allowing us to
critically reflect on the weak points in our IT Infrastructure. The
Bogeyman is real. And he found you. 

The artwork ‘Black Book of Wireless’ describes the physical connection
between form and function in high-frequency electronics.

‘Unintended Emissions’ encompasses themes of surveillance and war in
the Orwellian times we live in.

The work ‘WannaScry’ reflects on the power to manipulate, view, and
mimic the lives of individuals from afar with security breaches in our
video-calling services, which is highly relevant in our post- pandemic
society. 

‘Vending Private Network’ built like a condom machine, dispenses VPN’s
for just a Euro, giving us the surefire protection we need navigating
cyberspace. 

‘FakeDeeper – Portrait of three critical engineers’ exposes the ease
with which our visual identity can be stolen online for any nefarious
purpose necessary.

To complete the program, the Artists who are traveling to Bergen for
the festival, will present their work to the public and have a Q+A in
Artists’ Talks Day on Saturday 20th. 

Two other workshops happening,  will enable the participants to
understand better how technologies work and how to use the free tools
to act with freedom on the internet and digital realms. 

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Piksel Festival 2021 will take place from 18th-21st of November at
different venues across Bergen, with 2 main Exhibitions, 3 concert
nights, workshops and artists presentations. 

Piksel festival is an international network and annual event for
Electronic Art and Technological Freedom. 

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PRESS EXHIBITION PREVIEW
On Thursday 18th. Jun from 13.00 - 15.00, the exhibition will be shown
to the press. Danja Vasiliev, Bengt Sjölén, Gordan Savičić, and Sarah
Grant will be available for interviews. 
Please contact Kirstyn Williams (Tl 90553359) for appointment. 
For accreditation and press passes, please send an email to
piksel21(AT)piksel.no. 
Press contact: Kirstyn Williams 
Press images: https://bit.ly/3mADgbD 
More info and full program at:
https://piksel.no/2021/05/11/critical-engineering-working-group-exhibition


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Gisle Frøysland
Piksel Produksjoner
Strandgaten 207
5004 Bergen, Norway
+47 90665018
www.piksel.no