‘Currents’ consists if an interactive installation and a series of animations that explore the materiality of digital communication.
The Submarine Cable Map is an interactive, physical map of the global network of undersea cables that carry the communication signals of the Internet. It challenges how we conceptualise the Internet as a ‘wireless’ technology rather than a physical infrastructure. Remapping a communication system normally regarded as invisible highlights the evocative fragility of a world physically connected by cables.
Viewers are invited to interact with the work through an analogue switchboard that illuminates specific pathways around the world. The interaction reminds us of the materiality of the Internet, where digital communication is entangled, chaotic, and subject to disruptions of the natural world.
The animations in the exhibition bring together maps of global ocean currents and tectonic plates with imagery common to digital errors and delays, such as the ‘loading’ icon. They playfully consider elements of land and ocean that transmission signals pass through to reach our screens.
The artist would like to acknowledge the technical support of Daniel Hovenden and Keytie. This work was made for SafARI 2016.
Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gormon House
Until 11 February, 2017
Australian Capital Territory
Anna Madeleine, Submarine Cable Map, 2016, EL wire and electronic components, approx. 200 x 400cm
Installation view, Kudos Gallery for SafARI 2016, Sydney
Photograph: Document Photography
