Daniel Canogar, exonemo, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Sara Ludy, Sarah Rothberg,
Angela Washko, Andrea Wolf. Curated by Chris Romero.
Opening July 10th, 6 – 8pm
Show July 10th – August 16th
Bitforms Gallery: 131 Allen Street, New York
"I believe we lose immortality because we have not conquered our opposition to death; we keep insisting on the primary, rudimentary idea: that the whole body should be kept alive. We should seek to preserve only the part that has to do with consciousness." – Adolfo Bioy Casares, The Invention of Morel
Inspired by Argentinian author Adolfo Bioy Casares’ 1940 novel, The Invention of Morel, the exhibition Memory Burn observes mortality and death in relation to recording devices. The title of the exhibition refers simultaneously to unforgettable visions burned in the mind and to digital burning used to archive memories.
In the novel, a fugitive stranded on an island obsesses over a beautiful tourist named Faustine, only to find out that she and her fellow travelers are three-dimensional recordings projected by a machine. Coping with loneliness and gradual madness, he learns how to integrate himself into the machine’s memory, altering it to suggest that he and Faustine are together, in love.
The phenomenon that takes place on the island foreshadows our contemporary experience with recording devices, virtuality, and electronic networks. We document our lives as if to prolong them. Featured in the exhibition are a range of works that utilize photography, video, face recognition software, GIF animations, projection mapping, and virtual reality.
A virtual space in conjunction with the exhibition will be accessible at www.bitforms.com on July 10.