Artist Statement

Installation

ENDO is a recording device that captures and logs the surrounding situation from its individual point of view. Equipped with various sensors and a terabyte hard drive, the object continuously
gathers information about its environment: sound, camera images, GPS-coordinates, brightness, temperature, air pressure and humidity values are archived within this black box without observers ever knowing what happens to the stored data. In the course of time the machine produces a huge pool of information whose content or usage remains unknown. Does the record serve any secret purpose? Could it be exploited to act against us? Is this a trap? What remains is endless speculation – about the nature of information, the construction of a media dominated reality, the ‘ghost in the machine,’ and a potential loss of control. ENDO hence mirrors a situation we are all in: data – also about us – is gathered continuously. These mountains of data are rarely evaluated, yet they remain piled up, beyond the control of any single individual.

• Verena Friedrich is an artist who avails herself of diverse media to develop artworks dealing with the relationships between humans, science and technology – mostly in the form of installations, objects and robotics. Shown internationally at various media art festivals and exhibitions in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Japan and
  the USA, Friedrich‘s works have received the International Media Award for Science and Art from ZKM Karlsruhe and were nominated for the Transmediale Award 2008. In 2009 she received a work stipend from the German foundation Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen. Verena Friedrich studied art and media at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and at the University of Art and Design Offenbach from which she also holds a diploma and where in 2009 she also taught and conducted workshops related to electronics.  Verena Friedrich is based in Frankfurt/Main and Cologne where she is currently studying in the postgraduate programme of the Academy of Media Arts (KHM). heavythinking.org

Full text (PDF) p. 29-34