Artist Statement

This project continues Melikhaya Noqamza’s investigation into transhumanism, the merging of human consciousness with machines, which he sees as the future of mankind. It also comments on the symbiotic relationship of the old and the new. The new is reliant on the old physical form of a human being’s consciousness to become more than glorified remote controls. Transhumanism is the height of machinery, which is artificial intelligence combining with the height of human evolution. Steve Jobs didn’t simply create machinery: he created himself as a machine. Apple products have been based on one man’s visions for a greater part of their existence. The work drew inspiration from Nam June Paik’s TV Buddha, where he places a TV (representing modern day enlightenment) opposite a statue of a Buddha,  representative of traditional enlightenment and self-reflection.

• Melikhaya Noqamza is a University of KwaZulu-Natal (SA) Digital Arts Masters student, with an ongoing focus in art technology focusing on Artificial Intelligence and the singularity theories. Most of my art since leaving the Durban commercial realm of app and web design has been in creating a visual language that represents the future of machinery and humans by documenting the dual developments. With my studies in Augmented reality and Installation I also attempt to shift the focus of creators from trying to compete with mobile devices but rather to embrace them and include them in the viewing process. imultimedia.co.za/melikhaya