poetics of reality (encoded) | brigitte kowanz and troika

Brigitte Kowanz‘ new series Acronyms (2020) illustrates how the progress of digitization is also changing our language. In the artist's own handwriting, common abbreviations of English idioms in everyday digital exchange such as tbh (to be honest), afaik (as far as I know), or omg (oh my god) are depicted in neon letters.

The neon texts are handwritten and bring, on the one hand, a graphic element with its own rhythm to the works. On the other hand, the acronyms are even further coded, as the handwritten texts are not clearly decipherable. The acronyms symbolize the speed and internationality of today's communication. 

In the two works tbh and afaik (both 2020), Brigitte Kowanz expands the level of translation and transformation of language through a further process and the inclusion of the viewer in the works of art. The two letterings are embedded within a mirrored, glass showcase, through which the writing is reproduced into infinity. At the same time, the viewer is included in the work of art through a convex mirror lens and can see himself and his own immediate surroundings interwoven with the writing. For Kowanz, "mirrors, as a material for artistic work, enable recipients to be included, to let them become part of the work and to create virtual spaces."

Photo: Peter Hoiss

The wall work Unstable Construct (2021) shows a color field on photographic film strips, the color of which varies in relation to the viewer’s perspective. The shape is reminiscent of an architectural column, the surface of which fluctuates with the change of location and evolves into a spectrum of color. Through the use of colored light mirroring the digital RGB color space, analog and digital components come together during implementation. Troika's interest in the superimpositions and entanglements of the physical and virtual world becomes clear here. They question reception habits and demand active perception in real spacetime. They indicate that most of our everyday actions, interactions or decisions are in one way or another controlled, changed, supported or promoted by technology. The work shows how alterable and dependent reality is on one’s own perspective: that even an apparently tangible object such as a column can be put in question. 

Photo: Dirk Tacke

In her light sculpture Chances from the Networks series (2020), the Austrian artist visualizes the complex relationship between seeing, reading, understanding, perceiving and recognizing. She utilizes Morse code, inscribed on the fluorescent tubes. The linkage between language and light is paramount in this work: the segmentation and length of the neon tubes arise from the syntax of the work title - here Chances - transferred into binary code: each tube representing a letter in Morse code. The linearity and logic of the structure is interrupted by the actual creation, which is determined by chance. By dropping the miniature models, the lined up and connected parts in true-to-scale length, the shape of the work, subsequently transferred into neon, emerges. Kowanz invokes a technique by Marcel Duchamp, who established chance as an aesthetic principle in art with his work 3 Stoppages Étalon (1913/14). The black cables are not only technical aids, but also room drawings, spread out on the floor to emphasize the connection between language, light and technology.

Photo: Dirk Tacke

Reality is Not Always Probable (2021) is a cubic wall object, composed of thousands of black and white dice. By manually imitating a binary computer program, the elemental arrangement is determined by the base color of the dice. The front shows an intricate pattern, while the repetitive dice on the sides create the impression of the object extending endlessly into space. Troika is interested in questioning the effects of digital measurements and scientific assessments in society and real life. At the same time, they also point out that our everyday actions are shaped by digital technologies. The algorithm of Reality is Not Always Probable is based on the system of the cellular automaton, which is also used to simulate social growth. The calculated placement of the cubes is antagonistic to their symbolic power of chance and shows that reality remains incalculable - at least in part - despite increased control by digital technologies.

Photo: Dirk Tacke

Reality is Not Always Probable (2019) is a wall object with a lopsided wave-shaped pattern, a result of thousands of colored dice stacked upon and beside one another. Based on Troika's interest in the relationship between chance and control, the work represents the materialization of a computer simulation. The algorithm, which is based on the model of the cellular automaton, generates random systems, the starting point of which is determined by Troika. The order of dice in each row determines that of the next, creating complex sequences that are based on the binary principle of color and non-color. Troika's dice works refer to the historical use of dice as a means of determining fate, chance and luck. The roll of the dice is based in the laws of probability to which the process of the algorithm runs contrary. It is autonomous and can exist independently to everyday life, while reality itself is increasingly influenced by computer-based systems. The work clarifies Troika's investigations into showing how new technologies permeate physical reality and individual perception.

Photo: Dirk Tacke

Mindfulness (2020) is a work from Brigitte Kowanz’ series of installation cubes for indoor and outdoor spaces, designed as small mirror cabinets for the eye. The title of the work is repeated, superimposed and condensed in neon letters, creating a visual pull that takes the viewer into metaphysical spheres. The cube merges with its surroundings through the reflections and includes the viewer and the room via the mirrored base.

Photo: Studio Kowanz

Troika's series Irma Watched Over by Machines (2019-2020) shows recordings of surveillance cameras during Hurricane Irma, with records highs in wind speed and strength, in 2017. The artists transfer the visual recordings with the original RGB color spectrum of the digital image sensors onto canvas. In order to produce the color of the enlarged pixels from 16 red, green and blue tones, they implement an algorithm that calculates or interpolates the exact color information with neighboring brightness values in such raster graphics. The works juxtapose the devastating effects of a natural disaster with the neutral eye and merciless logic of artificial intelligence. The appropriation of algorithm functions in the artistic process can be understood as an expression of rapid technological and associated social change, which Troika reflects upon in their works.

Photo: Dirk Tacke