Ars Electronica and Art Collection Deutsche Telekom have selected Dr. Špela Petrič, a promising Slovenian artist at the intersection of art, science and technology, who critically examines the social impact of technological development and works closely with the konS ≡ Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art, for this year’s ArtScience residency, which facilitates encounters between artistic practice and scientific research. During her residency at ArtScience, artist Špela Petrič, together with her scientific partner Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe from the Sustainable AI Lab in Bonn, is developing an integral and essential part of a broader long-term interdisciplinary process as part of the AIxxNOSOGRAPHIES project, which she will present in September at this year’s Ars Electronica festival.
The AIxxxNOSOGRAPHY project focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. “What interests me as an artist are the ways in which technologies shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. While we might be acutely aware of how we have become dependent on internet platforms over the past 20 years, similar technologies are being deployed in other areas of society that are more hidden from view. AIxxNOSOGRAPHIES is an art-research framework looking into advanced automation in healthcare using hybrid and artistic methodologies with the intention to reveal their use to a wider public and speculate on possible futures. Even though I’ve worked with machine learning and AI in previous projects, the field of medicine poses specific challenges which require time, the help of various experts and patience to address. With this in mind, AIxxNOSOGRAPHIES begins with a two-year research and mapping-oriented phase and will be followed by artistic interventions in the next years based of what we will have learned,” explains the artist.
You can read more about the project and its research and creative levels in an interview with the artist by Rainald Schumacher, Artistic Director of Art Collection Deutsche Telekom and independent curator, for Ars Electronica.
ArtScience residencies are dedicated to artists from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe working at the intersection of art, technology and science, interested in exploring the social impact of technological developments. This year, Ars Electronica will take place from 6-10 September in Linz, Austria. This year, 3176 projects from 98 countries have been accepted. The largest number of entries was in the category of new animation, which was introduced from scratch. This is dedicated to ground-breaking animations at the intersection of new visualisation techniques and new forms of communication. The remaining categories are digital music and sound art, artificial intelligence and applied arts, and u19 – create your own world.
Špela Petrič, who created the installation Institute for Inconspicuous Languages: Reading Lips under the auspices of the konS ≡ Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art, has both an artistic and scientific background. She holds a PhD in biology and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in art history at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her work combines science and performance and critically examines the foundations of (bio)technological societies. Her work has been shown in numerous festivals, exhibitions and educational events at institutions such as Centre Pompidou, Nam June Pike Museum, ZKM and Ars Electronica.
Foto: Miha Fras