Michael Saup - Keynote Artist Talk - DUST exhibition
Sunday, August 20, 2023
11:00am - 11:40am
We are honoured to welcome Michael Saup who will speak from Berlin on the creation of DUST VR. He will speak on his inspiration for this work and how it relates to his impressive and far-reaching art practice.
Michael Saup is a German artist, researcher, instrumentalist, filmmaker and coder. He is a pioneer in the use of software as an artistic medium. He studied music, computer science and visual communication at University. He has been professor at HfG/ZKM in Germany and is the founding director of the Oasis Archive of the European Union. He is the co-founder of the Open Home Project, a humanitarian initiative helping people affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan. His work focuses on the underlying forces of nature & society...an ongoing research he calls the “Archaeology of Future”. Among his works are sound-driven computer animations, interactive concerts and interactive, site-specific, light installations. In the early 2000’s his Weapons of Mass Education workshops were delivered in India, Afghanistan, Morocco, and Europe. His work is presented in major museums, festivals and theatres worldwide. He has also produced collaborative works with diverse, contemporary artists. Michael is now based in Berlin.
DUST VR was part of the DUST exhibition at New Media Gallery from June - August 2023. This is a world premiere for this international version. The work makes use of virtual reality (VR) to represent, explore and confront the great scourge of urban particulate matter on earth. Using software programmed by the artist, the artwork technology is used to interpret and connect particulate emissions from dust sensors installed throughout New Westminster and Berlin as well as show us emission-landscapes from sensors dotted throughout the world. Using a VR Head-set the visitor is able to enter the space of each sensor location. We are dropped into an uncanny landscape integrated from open-source street locations and real-time (citizen-collected) data, representing the real-time movements and levels of dust air pollution at that spot. It is an aestheticized experience at once captivating, meditative and horrifying. The score by Matevž Kolenc haunts this liminal space, reminiscent of dystopian sci-fi underlining the real-world threat of particulate dust on future lives and future cities.
Michael Saup Website: https://1001suns.com/