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[Update: Click here for exhibition pictures.]
!Mediengruppe Bitnik sniff out surveillance cameras in public space
and bug the Zurich Opera. Recently they sent Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange a parcel with a camera which transmitted an image of
its whereabouts to the internet every 10 seconds. The parcel was a
system_test in a highly tense diplomatic crisis. Is it possible to break
through the physical barrier to Julian Assange, who is stuck at the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London because of an impending extradition to the
USA? Would the parcel arrive? Or would the British Authorities intercept
and destroy it?
This live Mail Art Piece called «Delivery for Mr. Assange» constitute
the core of the solo exhibition at Helmhaus Zürich.
And although the continuation of the piece has not yet reached its
destination at a Bahraini prison: The «postdrone» as !Mediengruppe
Bitnik call the parcel, which they sent to the imprisoned Bahraini human
rights activist Nabeel Rajab, fulfilled its purpose: As a metaphor for
invisible and disembodied movements in digital networks - and for their
potential for surveillance.
For their first solo show in Zürich since 2007, !Mediengruppe Bitnik
use three rooms at the Helmhaus to further develop their postal
metaphor. Through this they show what whistleblowers like Edward Snowden
do in the abstract - but only artists are capable of making tangible.
Exhibition:
14.02.2014 - 06.04.2014
Helmhaus Zürich, Limmatquai 31, 8001 Zürich
Audio: Bit-Tuner (http://bit-tuner.net/)
Wednesday, 26 February 2014, 17:00
Curator Daniel Morgenthaler in discussion with Felix Stalder,
Prof. of Digital Culture at the Zurich University of the Arts
Saturday, 8 March 2014
!Mediengruppe Bitnik and invited artists talk about a critical approach to technology, the supposed freedom of the Internet and the potential of art after Edward Snowden.
Workshop with Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev authors of the “Critical Engineering Manifesto”. More Information
«Delivery for Mr. Assange / Ein Paket für Herrn Assange»
A description of the “Postdrone’s” journey in a fast-paced textual visualization in which the journey itself resonates. Written by gonzo reporter and bitnik member Daniel Ryser
Delivery for Mr. Assange, Echtzeit Verlag
In cooperation with :digital brainstorming, a series of events organized by Migros Cultural Percentage
