Liquid Matter: Artistic work, studio visit, contextualisation, 'live' discussion online

The boundary between wet and dry is blurring. Similarly, our expectations towards solid or soft objects and machines are being redefined. These developments are impacted by many different factors, from developments in biotechnology and life science to innovation in new materials and their behavior, among various other areas. Also, in the humanities and the arts, there has been a recent surge of interest towards material agencies and processes that are based on inorganic or biological matter and executed by non-human organisms. It could be said the realms of technology and biology – that is, the biologically grown and the artificially constructed – converge in liquid matter. This can be seen when looking into the methods and practices of biology, biotechnology and biochemistry, which involve technological tools and approaches to investigate biological organisms and create chemistry-based experiments, all of which typically take place in wet environments.

This presentation is focused on liquids and flows as metaphors for our time. The author sees a correlation between our visible inability to tackle current environmental, climatic and societal challenges, and contemporary artistic approaches focused on fluids. These experiments can be characterized as fluid, temporal and continuously evolving in their exploration of science, technology, art and liquid matter.

The video streamed online during Ars Electronica is an edited presentation (art practice, studio visit, contextualisation talk) done with a support of Aalto Studios. It is part of the Aalto Garden/Uncertain Practices within 2020 Ars Electronica event Kepler's Garden. Uncertain Practices presented by Koray Tahiroglu, Andy Best and Laura Beloff.

Uncertainty requires that one be able to cope with doubt, something that 2020 took to unusual lengths. Uncertainty is also the basis for experimental art practices. The Aalto Garden presents three artists ―Koray Tahiroğlu, Laura Beloff and Andy Best― working through AI, music, artificial biology and an art-science network platform through studio visits, talks and a performance. The Aalto Garden events are produced by Aalto Studios at Aalto University.

Spring 2020 marked a period of enhanced uncertainty all around the world with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing societies into lockdown. The situation brought up societal and governance challenges that were further internalized into individuals’ thinking and their relationships as communities and with the world at large. Being uncertain also requires that one be able to cope with doubt, something 2020 took to unusual lengths.

However, one can also claim that uncertainty is connected to speculative and experimental art practices. Unpredictable and contradictory thought processes often breed new perspectives and ideas in creative practice. In comparison to developments in science and technology that typically aim to overcome uncertainty by proving a hypothesis either right or wrong, or some design-based approaches that aim to find solutions to predefined problems, experimental art may have uncertainty itself as its subject matter. Its aim is not necessarily to find a solution to a problem, but to speculate about its multiple potentialities and perspectives.

The garden presents three artists within the framework of uncertainty, including studio visits, demonstrations, talks and a musical performance. The presentations by Koray Tahiroğlu, Laura Beloff and Andy Best will be streamed and followed by live sessions for further dialogue with the audience. The garden events are produced by Aalto Studios at Aalto University.