[S+T+ARTS] WHERE DOGS RUN: ‘Archean Memory Farm’

𝐎𝐝𝐩𝐫𝐭𝐣𝐞 // 𝟏𝟒. 𝐨𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐨𝐛 𝟐𝟎𝐡
𝐑𝐚𝐳𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐚 // 𝟏𝟒. 𝐝𝐨 𝟑𝟎. 𝐨𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 @𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐣𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚, 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐣𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝟏 (𝟒. 𝐧𝐚𝐝.)

S projektom ‘Archean Memory Farm’ umetniški kolektiv smelo stopa na področje biokomputacije z uporabo bakterij kot medija za shranjevanje podatkov. Na videz redundantna tehnologija, ki je v zgodnjih poskusih prejšnjega stoletja bila razvita za digitalno zapisovanje glasbe na magnetni trak, je danes v projektu ‘Archean Memory Farm’ prestavljena v povsem drugo konceptualno lego – energetsko manj potratno procesiranje in shranjevanje podatkov. V sklopu enoletne rezidence evropske iniciative S+T+ARTS, kjer naj umetniška imaginacija navdihuje inženirske aplikacije prihodnosti, so umetniki v laboratorijih Kersnikove razvili prototip “tehnobiosfere” za eksperimentiranje z računskimi sposobnostmi umetno ustvarjene bio-geo-kibernetske kulture.

Projekt temelji na lastnostih starodavnih magnetotaktičnih bakterij (MTB), ki nastajajo s pomočjo magnetosomov, ki jih tvorijo kristali magnetita ali greigita. Bakterije magnetosome uporabljajo za gibanje vzdolž silnic Zemljinega magnetnega polja in se navadno zadržujejo v okoljih z minimalno količino kisika ali v povsem anaerobnih pogojih. Magnetotaktične bakterije so pomembne za preučevanje v geoekologiji, mineralogiji, biokemiji, biomedicini, fiziki, biomagnetizmu in kristalografiji. Avtorji so se v projektu osredotočili na presnovne procese znotraj magnetotaktičnih bakterij, ki so podobni informacijskim procesom, saj ti omogočajo vnos, shranjevanje in branje informacij. Lastnosti MTB omogočajo ustvarjanje umetnega geološkega spomina kot analogije ali nadomestila za digitalni spomin oziroma kot metodo algoritmične vzgoje spomina v živih bitjih.

Robotizirana interaktivna inštalacija omogoča obiskovalcem neposredno izkušnjo uporabe hibridne bio-kibernetske kulture, ki s svojim celotnim življenjskim ciklom napoteva na počasno procesiranje (slow computing). Ta s svojim nasprotjem od hipnega procesiranja podatkov problematizira človeško onesnaževanje digitalnega prostora, hkrati pa je ob tem projektu potrebno misliti obsežne naravne vire, v katerih se ti komputacijski procesi lahko odvijajo sinergično s človeškimi potrebami, brez okolju škodljivih učinkov.

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Znanstveno svetovanje: Veronika Kozyaeva, Tatyana Kurgina, Kristijan Tkalec
Programiranje: Sergey Mashkov, Dmitry Shishov, Gleb Andreev

Produkcija: Kersnikova Institute / Kapelica Gallery within the framework of S+T+ARTS In the City – STARTS (Science, Technology & the Arts)
Projekt so podprli: Evropska komisija, Ministrstvo za kulturo RS, MOL – Oddelek za kulturo, Fundacija CYLAND

—ENG—

𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 // 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐚𝐭 𝟖 𝐩.𝐦.
𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 // 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒–𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 @𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐣𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝟏 (𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫)

With the ‘Archean Memory Farm’ project, the artistic collective boldly ventures into the field of biocomputation by using bacteria as a medium for data storage. What appears to be a redundant technology—one that, in the early experiments of the previous century, was developed for digitally recording music onto magnetic tape —is repositioned in Archean Memory Farm into an entirely different conceptual register: energy-efficient data processing and storage. As part of a year-long residency of the European initiative S+T+ARTS, where artistic imagination is meant to inspire engineering applications of the future, the artists at the Kersnikova labs have developed a prototype of a ‘techno-biosphere’ for experimenting with the computational abilities of artificially created bio-geo-cybernetic culture.

The project is based on the properties of ancient magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), which are formed with the help of magnetosomes composed of magnetite or greigite crystals. Bacteria use magnetosomes to navigate along the lines of the Earth’s magnetic field and typically dwell in environments with minimal oxygen or in entirely anaerobic conditions. Magnetotactic bacteria are of particular importance for research in geoecology, mineralogy, biochemistry, biomedicine, physics, biomagnetism, and crystallography. In this project, the authors focused on the metabolic processes within magnetotactic bacteria that resemble information processes, as they enable the input, storage, and retrieval of information. The unique properties of MTB allow for the creation of an artificial geological memory as an analogy or substitute for digital memory—or as a method of algorithmic cultivation of memory within living beings.

The robotized interactive installation offers visitors a direct experience of engaging with a hybrid bio-cybernetic culture, whose entire life cycle points toward slow computing. This mode of computation, standing in opposition to instantaneous data processing, raises questions about human pollution of the digital realm. At the same time, the project compels us to consider vast natural resources in which such computational processes may occur in synergy with human needs—without producing harmful effects on the environment.
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Scientific consultants: Veronika Kozyaeva, Tatyana Kurgina, Kristijan Tkalec
Programming: Sergey Mashkov, Dmitry Shishov, Gleb Andreev

Produced by: Kersnikova Institute / Kapelica Gallery within the framework of S+T+ARTS In the City – STARTS (Science, Technology & the Arts)
Co-funded by: European Commission, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, City of Ljubljana – Department of Culture, CYLAND Foundation