Text by CLOT Magazine
Artists Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti are presenting I’d rather be in a dark silence than (2020) at Factory Berlin, where they have been partaking in the Residence Program hosted by Factory, Sonar +D and Beats by Dr Dre.
I’d rather be in a dark silence than is a signal-blocking trench coat with pockets lined in a military-grade fabric that keeps wireless technologies offline. If you place your device in a dark pocket, you can’t be tracked, traced, listened to, or notified. It is the first piece from the duo’s Privacy Collection, which the artists have worked on with Barbara Sanchez-Kane.
An appendage project of their seminal work On view continues to explore how technology interacts with us and our world, and the critical conversation on data rights in modern society. The artists don’t intend it to be a permanent solution, but “rather a hyperbolic reminder of the experiment we opt into when we check ‘I agree’ to a problematic T&C” every time you put it on. The piece is at the intersection of conceptual art, fashion, and function, and there will be a limited edition of coats available for purchase.
The trench coat has just arrived back from Rome, where it was shown for the first time as part of the digital art exhibition “Renaissance 2.0.2.0”, which also showcased works by Ai Wei Wei, Sofia Crespo, Giant Swan and more. On show at Factory Berlin is a multi-media interpretation of it, created in collaboration with other fellow residents and Berlin-based artists. There is an AR filter to be discovered and played within the space, created by Aaron Jablonski. The filter is also used in the screening film, a collaborative effort of Catherina, Ti and Mishka Kornai. They also worked on a photography series with Evelyn Bencicova, and created music with Amon Tobin, while Tony Cruise wrote and performed the poem “Privacy is Fake Now”.
“You didn’t read yet you agreed”, “Passwords can’t protect you”. Cruise’s voice resonates as you walk through the space immersing into the different outputs Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti have translated their trench-coat into; a great conversation starter about the pressing issues around data extraction and ownership, the state of privacy in our current times, and where we are headed.
This exhibition is part of Factory Berlin’s By Appointment Only, and it runs until the 11th of December 2020.
