Curator  Statement

Sydney, Australia: The 5th International Biennial of Media Art, Experimenta Speak to Me at ISEA2013. This exhibition is where technology and creativity collide at the cutting edge of experimental and emerging art. This year’s program at ISEA2013 presents work by 19 artists and collectives from across Australia and around the world, including four commissioned artworks by leading Australian artists. Working across diverse disciplines including robotics, animation and digital video, each of these artists will present a new work of significant ambition and scale to provide a dynamic showcase for artistic excellence and innovation. This year Experimenta will for the first time present its central exhibition at ISEA2013, in partnership with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. The 19th International Symposium on Electronic Art, presented by ANAT and supported by Destination NSW to align with Vivid Sydney, will showcase the best media artworks and future-focused ideas from Australia and around the world, in June 2013 at venues across greater Sydney. Digital art has moved from the margins to become part of the fabric of everyday life. At once ubiquitous and unnoticed resistance to electronic art has proven futile — it now lies embedded in the heart of our contemporary cultures. The symposium events will infuse the city’s social, digital and physical infrastructure. Experimenta Speak to Me is also presenting work by a number of high profile international artists. International artists featuring work include Natalie Bookchin (USA), Shih Chieh Huang (Taiwan/United States), and Scenocosme (France). The exhibition will also showcase works by a diverse group of Australian artists, including Archie Moore, Charlie Sofo, Priscilla Bracks and Gavin Sade, SODA _JERK, and Yandell Walton and others.
For Experimenta Speak to Me, Experimenta is also presenting four newly commissioned artworks by Australian artists: Christopher Fulham, Jess MacNeil, Wade Marynowsky and Katie Turnbull.
https://experimenta.org/exhibition/experimenta-speak-to-me
https://www.thecreativeissue.com.au/experimenta-speak-to-me-5th-international-biennial-of-media-art

• Jen Mizuik, Experimenta Director, explains that the title of the exhibition, Speak to Me is an invitation to consider what it means to be together. The exhibition will explore how we communicate with one another in this time of ultimate interconnectivity. ‘We live in a time more dominated by communication than any before. At no other time in history have we been so connected. We can communicate across the world with anyone at any time. This year’s exhibition invites the viewer to question ideas around communication, intimacy and sharing of ideas in the world today. As technology continues to shape and infiltrate our lives in the 21st century, we have to consider how this influences our relationships, daily actions and the way we engage with our space and each other,’ says Ms Mizuik.