Hyphen Hub: Digital Humanism 2019 Exhibition
Wallplay was pleased to bring together eight artists, co-presented by Asher Remy-Toledo of Hyphen Hub for New Museum’s NEW INC. The group of artists and Hyphen Hub represented a subset of the New Museum’s NEW INC 2018-2019 cohort. This broad showcase aimed to open a window into the talented minds that make up NEW INC’s vibrant and multifaceted community. NEW INC is dedicated to fostering “new art and new ideas”. Therefore, each included work engaged with innovative technologies, bringing attention to both present and future realities just beyond the horizon.
Each artist’s work in some way explored evolving forms of social consciousness through dialogues in technological development. This illustrated the rewiring of minds in a process of exaptation, in order to adapt to new forms of seeing, feeling, and expressing. These themes are re-evaluated incessantly as the boundaries of new media expand. And ultimately, Remy-Toledo himself is interested in psychological motivations that lie between each exhibited work, such as the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) when the process of adaptation is simply not fast enough.
For example, works like Skye Von’s EmbraceVR took visitors to a hyper-real world where the lack of genuine connection threatens the existence of humanity. Utilizing emerging wearable technology, the piece encourages participants to amplify connectedness in the real world.
Other works by artists Chester Dols and Janet Biggs, an incoming member of the program, explored the connection of human-machine, the obsession with other planets and planetary landscapes. These works question how a future that takes into account how “the other” has been excluded, not only from the past and present but from the future. Rad Mora’s MOOD//LOOP animations explored the notion of visual ASMR, with a focus on human gestures.
Featuring: Janet Biggs, Mattia Casalegno, Andrew Demirjian, Chestel Dols, Rad Mora, Damjanski, Catalina Tuca and Skye Von
