The ubiquity of computers and portable communication devices has led modern society to a state where digital technology has become an integral part of the human natural environment. Invisible to the eye, network connections have changed our daily lives, ways of communicating and working. They have taken on an important role in shaping our identity and in creating interpersonal relationships. This process has shifted interest in the phenomenon of technological development to implications in the roles that new technologies have in shaping our experience.
In their work, Auke Touwslager and Ursula Lavrenčič explore the invisible world of sound waves, frequency and electromagnetic fields. They play with the action of radiation, electromagnetic radiation and different frequencies that invisibly wave around us. This raises new questions about the importance of digital technologies for human society and opens up new possibilities for expression.
Cell Phone Disco is a project that uses a mobile phone as a medium of artistic articulation. It is an experimental installation that visually electromagnetically polarizes the included mobile phone. It consists of several thousand sensors connected to LEDs. These cells, which were created as a fashion accessory for decorating mobile phones, form a large surface that is illuminated in the presence of an electromagnetic field. Cell Phone Disco Allows the senses to detect the previously invisible, secretly monitor the phone, thus drawing attention to the dialogical nature of the device’s body.
The art that exploits the possibilities offered by mobile phone technology is not limited in the context of the production of works of art – its ultimate reach lies in creating works that are performative and interactive. Such projects are mostly carried out outside the traditional relations of the art system, outside the restrictions of art institutions. They move art in the dynamic context of mobility, interactivity and global connections.