Technosoma — Sensitive Circuits in the Flesh of the Machine

David Da Paz

FILE SÃO PAULO 2025: SYNTHETIKA – Art and Technology – WORKSHOP
Electronic Language International Festival

Tecnosoma — Sensitive Circuits in the Flesh of the Machine – Brazil

In this workshop, participants will explore the fusion of body, technology, and artificial intelligence, creating interactive experiences with capacitive sensors and real-time generative models. Inspired by the concept of the Technosome—the machine as a sensitive, pulsating organism—the workshop explores how human touch can generate electrical signals that trigger audiovisual, auditory, and light responses. Microcontrollers (Arduino and ESP32), generative AI, and sensory interactivity will be covered.

BIO

Artist, researcher, and developer specializing in AI, machine learning, and IoT, he has worked for over 10 years with interactive art, generative systems, and sensory installations. He participated in the Artropocode residency (Spain) and the Spontaneous Combustion Residency (London), exploring cyberurban performances and locative media.

Ad Infinitum
Ad infinitum is a parasitical entity which lives off human energy. It lives untethered and off the grid. This parasite reverses the dominant role that mankind has with respect to technologies: the parasite shifts humans from “users” to “used”. Ad infinitum co-exists in our world by parasitically attaching electrodes onto the human visitors and harvesting their kinetic energy by electrically persuading them to move their muscles. The only way a visitor can be freed is by seducing another visitor to sit on the opposite chair and take their place. Being trapped in the parasite’s cuffs means getting our muscles electrically stimulated in order to perform a cranking motion as to feed it our kinetic energy. This reminds us that, in the cusp of artificially thinking machines, we are no longer just “users”; the shock we feel in our muscles, the involuntary gesture, acknowledges our intricate relationship to uncanny technological realm around us.

Attachment
This poetic machine prints your message and a code on a sheet A6, slips it into a biopolymer cylinder attached to a balloon, which is finally released into the air. Then, the balloon will travel haphazardly to a potential recipient.
Where did the idea come from? The basic idea was to take a stand against the current use of «smart» technologies by creating a poetic concept, using current technology that allows us to communicate differently and rediscover expectation, the random, and the unexpected.
For the record, I have always been attracted by what is in the air and remember having won a balloon release contest when I was about ten years old. My balloon flew from Switzerland to Austria, this definitely left an impression on me and perhaps influenced the idea of this project.

The other side
This installation automatically creates a three-dimensional relief carving of the current cloud formations and ocean surface conditions on the opposite side of the earth from the location of the gallery space. Using satellite data from the Nasa Earth Observing Information System and the GPS coordinates of the gallery, the installation obtains a current image of an approximately six hundred square mile area on the opposite side of the earth from its location. Using custom software, the system converts this image into a relief model that is sent to an onsite CNC machine hanging upside down in the gallery space. The CNC machine carves the relief in pink foam with its upside-down orientation directly echoing the cloud and ocean topography on the opposite side of earth.

Drawing Machine

HYSTERESIS

FILE 2024 | Aesthetic Synthetics
International Electronic Language Festival
Robert Seidel – HYSTERESIS – Germany

HYSTERESIS intimately weaves a transformative fabric between Robert Seidel’s projections of abstract drawings and queer performer Tsuki’s vigorous choreography. Using machine learning to mediate these delayed re-presentations, the film intentionally corrupts AI strategies to reveal a frenetic, delicate and extravagant visual language that portrays hysteria and hysteresis in this historical moment.

Bio

Robert Seidel is interested in exploring abstract beauty through cinematic techniques and insights from science and technology. His projections, installations and award-winning experimental films have been presented at numerous international festivals, art venues and museums, highlighting his innovative approach to visual art.

Credits

Film: Robert Seidel
Music: Oval
Performer: Tsuki
Graphics: Bureau Now
5.1 Mixing: David Kamp
Support: Miriam Eichner, Carolin Israel, Falk Müller, Paul Seidel
Financing: German Federal Film Board

Parasitic / Symbiotic
In the project “Parasitic / Symbiotic” this area of tension between nature and technology is addressed. A scenario is created in which the human being makes use of a technical device, that is sitting like a parasite on a tree. It contains a milling machine, which moves along a tree to carve encoded text into it. For the content of the carving a poem from romanticism („Abschied.“ von Joseph von Eichendorff) is used, which expresses the natural thoughts of unity and oneness and depicts the relation of nature and culture.

The Electric Knife Orchestra
Created by Neil Mendoza, The Electric Knife Orchestra consists of sixteen knives and one meat cleaver (all purchased from the $0.99 store) that have been brought to life to perform the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit Stayin’ Alive. The orchestra consists of six musical machines and all of the sound is created through the operation of these machines.