Panel Statement

This panel, inspired by the autonomous train projects such as Los Ferronautas (the Railnauts) (Mexico) and HeHe (France) seeks to examine the way in which artists might take on ‘big’ infrastructures such as personal transportation. The Railnauts question the ideology of progress, instead exploring the two poles of the social experience of technology – utility and disuse. Their ‘SEFT1’ rail module is currently exploring abandoned railway tracks in Mexico and Ecuador and is heading for ISEA. HeHe’s mischievous public art interventions include their ongoing ‘Train Project’, criticizing the car as the only option for autonomous transport and proposing personal rail travel as a temporary, imaginary prototype, building individual rail vehicles for different cities around the world, including Istanbul, San Jose, NY, Paris and most recently Manchester. The panel also investigates the dream of alternative air transport (airships) as a slower, more sustainable method of transport breaking the deadlock of incessant air travel.
Rob La Frenais speaking on behalf of HeHe – Helen Evans & Heiko Hansen.

• HeHe is a Paris based art and design partnership set up in 1999 by Helen Evans & Heiko Hansen.  hehe.org.free.fr
• Rob La Frenais (UK) is a curator, writer and lecturer  roblafrenais.info
• Andrés Padilla Domene, Mexico, b. 1986, cinematographer  andrespadilla.net   iffr.com/en/2017/films/ciudad-maya
• Iván Puig, Mexico, 1977. Multidisciplinary artist, he did studies in electronics and fine arts in Guanajuato, Mexico; Quebec, Canada and Valencia, Spain.   ivanpuig.net                       arroniz-arte.com/en/ivan-puig-2
• Dr. Nicola Triscott, UK,  is a curator, cultural entrepreneur, researcher and writer, specializing in the intersections between art, science, technology and society.  nicolatriscott.org