From Andrew Frost…
The International Symposium of Electronic Art 2013 sprawls across Sydney in multiple venues, with exhibitions, events, a conference, workshops and talks. It’s stated aim is to “…showcase the best media artworks from around the world and provide a platform for the lively exchange of future-focused ideas.” The main stage of ISEA2013 is Carriageworks where a number of exhibitions grace its galleries and spaces and its international drawcard is Ryoji Ikeda’s Test Pattern.
Using data siphoned from the aether, Ikeda translates the bits into patterns and stripes, star fields of graphs and charts, blocks of floating text and axis lines, a stunning visual abstract field that pulses and entrances the viewer. Like most events of this type, it’s also an opportunity for viewers to record their impressions via their smart phones, a data translation from the actual back into the virtual. Ikeda’s aesthetic is uncompromising but has a beauty that reminds this viewer of the data flows of Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in The Shell, but where that classic anime offered its visuals through the proscenium of the cinema screen, this an immersive experience where you are at one with the machine.
Until July 1
Carriageworks, Eveleigh.
Pic: Ryoji Ikeda, Test Pattern, 2013. Installation detail. Courtesy the artist and ISEA2013.
