The body and mind are fundamental aspects to understand human identity, behaviour, race and gender. Both, body and mind, are mediums of expressions and subjects of investigation for artists and designers. With recent developments in mind and body-enhancing technologies, and the latest advances in the field of human-machine-interaction, artists, designers and researchers have the potential to alter the human faculties such as self-consciousness, autonomy and agency.

Artists, designers and researchers are working together on artistic projects that seek to hack and re-configure our preconceived modes of reality, the way we relate to our minds and bodies, and how we communicate and interact with machines. How is technology shaping human nature and existence? What are the ethical implications of these practices? What role does technology play in the creative process? Has digital technology become an influential actor or an autonomous agent in art? Or is it becoming a self-reflective tool for artists? How is the current socio-cultural and political landscape influencing the way artists design technologies for art production?

This session is an exploration of the human-technology relationship from an artistic and scientific point of view. It reveals how artists, designers and scientists use a variety of technological systems as means to reconsider artistic production, and to investigate machine embodiment, and the body and mind connection.

– Rosario Hurtado (moderator), founding member of El Último Grito, Head of Department MA Space & Communication, HEAD – Genève
– Marco Donnarumma, artist and scholar (marcodonnarumma.com)
– Jürg Lehni, artist and designer (juerglehni.com)
– Susanna Hertrich, artist, researcher and critical designer (susannahertrich.com)
– Prof. David Rudrauf, psychologist and neuroscientist

Conference language: English

Credits: Jürg Lehni

Credits: Onuk

Credits: Susanna Hertrich

Credits: Samuel Hanselmann