By leaning onto different approaches to exploring the domains of technology in light of natural phenomena, one artist and a duo from Spain, Moisés Mañas and Playmodes (Eloi Maduell and Santi Vilanova), present their works at the Podroom gallery. Under the title Mental Staircase, the project emphasises the connection between the two seemingly unrelated themes – water and star constellation. Previously generated works encompassing video, sound, and objects will be reformulated according to the space, aiming to immerse the Belgrade audiences into a poetic yet critically charged experience.
Marcel Duchamp’s painting Nude Descending a Staircase reflected increasing technological advancement and its impact on the human experience. From a contemporary perspective, this iconic 20th-century masterpiece seems like a static metaphor of the never-ending movement of our minds moderated by algorithms. Driven by the same task of addressing the ever-changed ways of seeing, especially nature, through this exhibition project, Mañas and Playmodes tend to underline that every aspect of our reality has become a matter of social and political competition in times when we are blinded by an endless flow of seemingly scientific data.
The exhibition is a continuation of a collaboration between Universitat Jaume I’s exhibition space Display-UJI and The Cultural Centre of Belgrade‘s Podroom gallery. Supported by the Spanish Embassy.
Curators: Maya Marja Janković and Vladimir Bjeličić
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The work of Moisés Mañas, artist, researcher and lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), has been reflecting in recent years basic questions of the human-object relationship in attempt to explore a kind of cyber ontology related to the universe of the mechanical and cybernetic. Mañas questions raw communication protocols, reflections on cybernetic origins and the generation of audiovisual evidence through neo-retro interfaces and interpretation of data in real time. Specifically, his work is summarised in the construction of audiovisual devices and assemblages as small electronic poetic manifestos that aim to highlight the relationship between art, technology and society.
Eloi Maduell and Santi Vilanova have been the driving force behind Playmodes since 2006. This digital arts and crafts workshop explores the intersection of art and science, philosophy, music, and technological research. Their work often takes on impossible forms like light sculptures, audiovisual instruments or projections onto the stars. Over nearly 20 years, Playmodes’ works have been exhibited in festivals and museums on all continents: from Shanghai to New York, Sydney to Amsterdam, and Barcelona to Medellín. Specialised magazine have published their algorithmic graphic work, and their music was performed by the Humans or machines. They have won international music, art and design awards, and several art spaces, institutions and collectors worldwide treasure their works.