Floating

FILE 2024 | Aesthetic Synthetics
International Electronic Language Festival
Leilanni Todd – Floating – United States

Floating explores the concept of surrendering and freeing oneself by allowing oneself to float, symbolizing overcoming adversity and mastering self-confidence. Inspired by her grandmother’s journey to overcome her fear of water through swimming, the work uses water and sea creatures as symbols of resilience and transformation. The personal narrative behind the work adds depth to its exploration of overcoming fears and discovering inner strength.

Bio

Leilanni Todd is an award-winning creative director with extensive experience in advertising, fashion and new media. Originally from Toronto and now based in New York, she harmoniously integrates art, technology and culture into her work. Through her FLOAM WORLD platform, Leilanni creates surreal narratives, reimagines traditional norms in fashion and advertising, and addresses complex human issues with humor and creativity.

Yasmin Whitlock

“When you look into the work of designer Yaz Whitlock, you can’t help but notice the dichotomy: elements of fertility and celebrations of the placenta are blended into symbols of birth control.” Pedro Milanezi

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“Lorsque vous examinez le travail du designer Yaz Whitlock, vous ne pouvez pas vous empêcher de remarquer la dichotomie: des éléments de fertilité et des célébrations du placenta sont mélangés dans des symboles de contrôle des naissances.” Pedro Milanezi

TREATISE
KYMATIC ensemble
Treatise is a graphic musical score comprising 193 pages of lines, symbols, and various geometric or abstract shapes that largely eschew conventional musical notation. Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which was of particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work.

光
光正在使用高精度激光在屏幕上绘制连续的抽象形状，并与声音完美同步。强烈的光线与完全的黑暗形成对比，缓慢的动作和微小细节的演化与强而有力的手势一样重要。结果既是古朴的又是未来主义的。新兴的模式为许多可能的解释留出了空间。象形文字，一种未知语言的符号，建筑图纸，数据点之间的连接或类似Tron的早期视频游戏放大了1000倍。

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Light

Light is using high-precision lasers to draw continuous abstract shapes on the screen, perfectly synchronized with the sound. Intense light contrasts with total darkness, and slow movements and the evolution of small details are as important as strong gestures. The result is both quaint and futuristic. Emerging models leave room for many possible explanations. Hieroglyphs, symbols in an unknown language, architectural drawings, connections between data points, or early video games like Tron are magnified 1,000 times.

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Lumière

La lumière utilise des lasers de haute précision pour dessiner des formes abstraites continues sur l’écran, parfaitement synchronisées avec le son. La lumière forte contraste avec l’obscurité totale, le ralenti et l’évolution des petits détails sont aussi importants que les gestes forts. Le résultat est à la fois pittoresque et futuriste. Les modèles émergents laissent place à de nombreuses explications possibles. Les hiéroglyphes, les symboles dans une langue inconnue, les dessins d’architecture, les connexions entre les points de données ou les premiers jeux vidéo comme Tron sont agrandis 1 000 fois.

Contours
Contours proposes a distancing through de-familiarization of what has become concrete by way of image and language. Active contradiction and abstraction are central to the works through a mixture of variables often seen in opposition or as dis-harmonious. Through the presentation of puzzling symbols, both familiar and skewed, a legible illegibility is produced: information being transmitted, but the immediate read obscured and hidden from sight. Through this, current sight-lines are made visible allowing for critical reflection, while simultaneously revealing the flexibility of language and image in order to engender the possibility of alternative understandings of the world: a crucial consideration in context of our contemporary global social and political shifts.
video

CARBON
CARBON merges the aesthetics of space exploration and scientific imaging with the interpretation of abstract symbols. I’m interested in extremophiles, the origins of life on earth, and what forms sentience might assume elsewhere in the universe. Would we recognize it hovering in front of us? What began with a camera-less method I discovered while experimenting with photograms, and drawing, has grown into immersive environments including large stills, video, multi-point sound and inter-active sculptures.

Noumenon
Noumenon is a site-specific large-scale architectural and year-long installation in ZeroSpace, New York City; a compilation of Buyukberber’s last 4 year of audiovisual work and explorations; from emergent systems to out-of-body experiences; from transcendental objects to the symbols of the collective unconscious.

Boolean, A Woodcraft Creation
Studio Nucleo acts as a kind of contemporary ministerial show. In their practice, they love to narrate epic stories throughout history. The design brand puts emphasis on important facts, symbols, signs, objects and materials that have altered human existence: metals, jade, etc, they draw references from within a 1000-year scope. Studio Nucleo creates modern design pieces that are unique and timeless!

Vanitas Machine

The installation VANITAS MACHINE addresses the desire for eternal life and the potential of life-prolonging measures. Based on a candle which – by means of technical intervention – burns down very slowly, vanitas machine creates a contemporary analogy to the endeavour of prolonging the human lifespan with the help of science and technology.Being one of the classical vanitas symbols, a burning candle recalls the futility of the moment, the transience of human life and the certainty of the end of all existence. But is this end really still inevitable?In the course of the last two centuries, average human life expectancy has increased significantly in the industrialised countries. Moreover, in the context of scientific research the biological causes of ageing are being explored. Numerous theories of aging have already been developed pointing both towards physiological as well as environmental factors.One of the first theories of ageing was the so-called »metabolism theory«, which claims that the lifespan of organisms is reciprocally related to energy turnover and therefore connected to calorie intake, oxygen consumption and heart rate: The higher the metabolic rate, the shorter the lifespan of the organism.

THE LONG NOW
A soap bubble usually remains stable for only a few moments – it is a perfectly formed sphere with an iridescent surface that reflects its surroundings. As one of the classical vanitas symbols the soap bubble traditionally stands for the transience of the moment and the fragility of life. THE LONG NOW approaches the soap bubble from a contemporary perspective – with reference to its chemical and physical properties as well as recent scientific and technological developments. THE LONG NOW is aimed at extending the lifespan of a soap bubble, or even to preserve it forever. Using an improved formula, a machine generates a bubble, sends it to a chamber with a controlled atmosphere and keeps it there in suspension for as long as possible. The project is presented in the form of an experimental set-up in which the newly created soap bubble oscillates permanently between fragility and stability.

MOL
MOL (2018) takes up the ancient technique of memorizing information by placing symbols and signs along a mental path through an imagined house from room to room. Interested in the way technology affects both our sense of and need for memory, Nymann attempts to capture her own active and associative thinking by reconstructing her path through her abandoned childhood home. In the work, she visualizes her past experiences through the placement of anchor objects—which, according to the ancient Greco-Roman method of loci, shape the way we perceive the external world—suggesting that in our increasing reliance on technology to memorize for us, we allow others to form our view of the world.

Dawns, Mine, Crystal

The exhibition title Dawns, Mine, Crystal – a direct reference to the work of Raymond Roussel, a pioneer of experimental writing – establishes an intersection of a ‘world of materials’ with complex layers of metaphors and symbols. For Kim, material is not merely a basis for creating forms and images, but a main protagonist for creation itself.

رون اراد
阿拉德
רון ארד
ロン·アラッド
론 아라드
РОН АРАД
evocative proposal
For the canadian national holocaust monument competition, Ron Arad Studio teamed up with david adjaye associates to envision an evocative proposal commemorating the events, victims, and survivors of a grave moment in human history. Avoiding the use of direct symbols, the design places 23 sinuous and slender walls parallel to one another, creating a field of canyon-like passageways. Spaced 120 centimeters (47 in) apart, visitors are only able to pass through each crevice in single file. The partitions rise to a height of 14 meters (46 feet), drawing the eye upward toward the framed sky. This isolated journey is complemented by the shared experience of reflecting back on the monument’s significance.

Untitled

“This work arose from Mullican’s preoccupation with urban space and the creation of virtual cities and worlds. Mullican works with the symbols and old concepts that were used in the explanation of the world. The five parts of this work resemble archive boxes or type cases, which address the reduced character of virtual models. The containers could, however, also make us think of industrial complexes. They point to the loss of old concepts of the world and build on the creation of utopian ideals that remain valid for all time.” Teresa Lošonc

マウリツィオ·カテラン
Маурицио Каттелана
SELF-TEACHED CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN ARTIST, BORN IN PADUA IN 1960 CURRENTLY LIVING IN NEW YORK. HIS ARTISTIC PROPOSAL IS LOCATED BETWEEN SCULPTURE AND PERFORMANCE (ARTISTIC ACTION WHERE AN ARTIST OR A GROUP OF ARTISTS PARTICIPATES WITH THE USE OF THE BODY AS A SCULPTURAL ELEMENT “LIVE” IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC), WORKING MAINLY IN THE GAME. THE SENSE OF HUMOR AND THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE ESTABLISHED SYMBOLS CONSTITUTE ITS MAIN EXPRESSIVE WEAPONS.

After her studies on VŠVU in Bratislava, Markéta Martišková has moved to Antwerp, Belgium, to start studying on the Academy of Art. Nowadays, Antwerps areher second home and mainly big source of inspiration for her ideas and work. As a designer, Marketa likes to communicate through symbols, typography and print and likes to discover and use new techniques. A certain joke accompanies the topic of each collection and is largely based on Marketa’s fantasies.

Nothing of This is Ours
“With his strong signature, and his recognizable visual and digital language, Alex creates infinite, surrealistic worlds with colorful creatures, alchemistic symbols, buddhas and other worldly cultural discoveryheritages. In the multiplayer game installation ‘Nothing of This is Ours’, visitors can immerse themselves in the mystic landscapes, graphic patterns and polygon characters. A journey without a destination, exploring with pure instinct. Alex offers the visitors a closer look at the artistic, innovative possibilities of the art game. The game as a contemporary medium, where the newest technique and art come together and enrich the one who takes the time to play the game. Alex invites the visitor to play in M0Bi, individually or collectively, experienced and inexperienced!”

Ensemble “Protest”
Graduate from the Royal Academy in Antwerp Markéta Martišková left to study in Belgium after finishing her studies at The Academy of Fine Arts and Design (VŠVU) in Bratislava. Antwerp has become her second home and her strongest source of inspiration for new ideas and work. Being a designer, Markéta communicates through symbols, typography and prints. She also always tries to use new techniques. The theme of each of her collections contains a certain element of wit and draws on the designer’s imagination. She creates collections for women as well as children.

Red Mask
Sarah Charlesworth was a conceptual artist and photographer whose work sought to bridge the gap between fine art and a critical practice of photography. Trained as a painter and introduced to conceptual art in college, Charlesworth developed a deeper interest in photography and its ability to deconstruct our shared symbols and public imagery in ways that articulate and question the values and beliefs of our culture.

quintesence (QTSNSE)
Visualising a process of elements that represent the development of the psychic process, symbols will represent elements of the subconscious, telling a story of how memory may be disorientated, distorted, dysfunctional yet acting as a linear process to individuation. Using contemporary classical composition techniques & elements of sound system culture to heighten the viewers engagement with the different dimensions of space being presented and to enhance their depth of perception.

Corrupted Symbols

kiss garbage

“We create a new and honest, heroic and monumental form of art.”
Voina means war in Russian. Voina is a collective of about twenty artists/activists who challenge the Russian establishment with their radical actions in the public space. According to Voina’s principles, the battleground of the art collective are not contemporary art galleries (“conformist art-junk”). The war takes place in the street, among dirt and ice, in police stations, in restaurants, museums, and courts.Owing to their direct method of intervention against the symbols of power and repression, they are regarded as one of the most disturbing and controversial elements of the arts scene. One of Voina members is currently waiting for trial, another member was arrested illegally during the recent demonstrations to protest against fraud in the Russian election (but he managed to escape from the police station), and yet another one had to flee from the country.

Endangered Species
Best-known for her videos and animated films combining drawn art, music and occasionally scratched or reworked cinematic images, Camille Henrot’s work blurs the traditionally hierarchical categories of art history. Her recent work, adapted into the diverse media of sculpture, drawing, photography and, as always, film, considers the fascination with the “other” and “elsewhere” in terms of both geography and sexuality. This fascination is reflected in popular modern myths that have inspired her, such as King Kong and Frankenstein. The artist’s impure, hybrid objects cast doubt upon the linear and partitioned transcription of Western history and highlight its borrowings and grey areas. In the series of sculptures Endangered Species, for example, the artist has created objects inspired by African art by using pieces from car engines; placed on tall pedestals, these slender silhouettes with zoomorphic allure make reference to the migration of symbols and forms as well as to the economic circulation of objects. This survival of the past, full of misunderstandings, shifts and projections (as shown in the slideshow Egyptomania, the film Cynopolis, drawings of the Sphinx, and even in the photographs of prehistoric flints) troubles cultural codes and conventions. In this way, Camille Henrot’s work questions mental resistances and the past’s resonance, whether it be drawn from myth or from reality.

تاكاهيرو ماتسو
松尾高弘
타카히로 마츠오
Такахиро Мацуо
Phantasm
file festival

To explore a fantasy world experienced sometime and somewhere in our memory. Phantasm is an interactive installation in which participants light up in a small dreamlike world in space. As you take hold of a glowing sphere that releases a pale light, the area lights up in pale blue light, and white butterflies appear from nowhere as a soft piano melody flows. Butterflies fly slowly and gloriously, gathering toward the sphere, and chase you as you move the sphere. The sphere is the key to the real world and fantasy. Participants can experience the nostalgia of playing with butterflies by moving around or holding the sphere in the air. Beautiful white butterflies draw wing strokes in the air as if they are symbols of a fantasy world; they delicately lead you into their world. If you cover the sphere with your hands to shut out the light, the butterflies gradually disappear, leaving silence and lingering light, bringing you back to reality. You will find yourself perplexed as if it were a fleeting dream. Technical statement of “Phantasm” LEDs are used as the light source for the sphere which is the interface, so that the sphere glows in uniformity and allows the interaction of participants hiding the light or releasing the light with their hands. Light, color tone, and the position of the sphere are monitored with a sensor camera placed on the ceiling, and by connecting with real time CG, the butterfly movements (appearance, disappearance, gathering, and chasing) become possible.