KW Digital:
Poetics of Encryption:
Art and the Technocene

10 pm

Reading by Nadim Samman, sonic reply by Ed Davenport

11 pm onwards

Magna Pia (live); Inland (DJ set)

KW’s Curator for the Digital Sphere, Nadim Samman, presents his first monograph Poetics of Encryption: Art and the Technocene (Hatje Cantz / KW), 2022.

Proprietary algorithms, secret data troves, and inscrutable systems rule the day. How is this registered in art? In Poetics of Encryption: Art and the Technocene Samman explores artworks that explore the hidden dimensions of our technological landscape. Running counter to erroneous claims regarding a new culture of transparency and openness, such artworks address black sites, black boxes, and black holes—all the while, toggling between enlightened concern and occult dreaming.

The event opens with a reading that touches upon the book’s key themes. In dialogue with Samman, techno producer and experimental composer Ed Davenport convenes a sonic reply. Cryptic sets by Magna Pia and Inland take us deeper into the night.

Nadim Samman, Ph.D., is Curator for the Digital Sphere at KW Institute for Contemporary Art.

Inland (Ed Davenport) is a British producer, DJ and founder of Counterchange Recordings based in Berlin. His busy output stands for purist and inherently progressive rhythmic work; grounded in the romantic traditions of early Techno yet driven by a constant search for new ground, textures and studio-techniques. Known for his detailed and explorative techno releases on Counterchange, Infrastructure, and more, his debut LP on Ostgut Ton sub-label A-TON was released in September 2018.

Magna Pia (Hüseyin Evirgen) is a composer, producer and DJ. He is one half of Cassegrain. He studied composition, piano and electronic music at the University of Istanbul and Mozarteum Salzburg and has composed music for theatre, dance performances, and mixed media for almost two decades. As Magna Pia, Evirgen has released work Counterchange, Soma, Feral Note, Arcing Seas, and more. He focuses on providing combative dance floor trips and unorthodox sonic moods with subtle 90s techno references, all the while, he maintains his interest in combining contemporary techno music with archaic symbolism.

Part of project: KW Digital Program

KW Institute for Contemporary Art sits at the intersection of virtual and material worlds, and the creative use of emerging technologies. We understand that the digital is not just online or onscreen—but increasingly conditions analog or ‘real’ space. For this reason, we consider the continuum between digital and physical domains to be a key issue in contemporary culture. Exploring, criticizing, or reinventing it through art is in the public interest.

The KW Digital Program showcased cutting-edge developments in line with this vision. The program did not place the virtual in a subordinate role to the physical (or vice versa). As everyday life becomes more saturated with tech, one’s experience straddles both. Addressing this condition, our program played out across various platforms—rather than being proprietary to any particular device or location.

Throughout, we trained a close eye on the relationship between culture and innovation. We were guided by dialogue with artists and scholars. We also pursued meaningful engagement with the tech sector—to better discover the implications of applied science, and intellectual frameworks for the future.

The program was curated by Dr. Nadim Samman, Curator Digital Sphere at KW.

Overview
2021–2024

KW Digital:
Poetics of Encryption
17 February – 26 May 2024

Poetics of Encryption
Conference
27/28 October 23

Poetics of Encryption
Book launch
28 April 23

KW on location:
Rachel Rossin
THE MAW OF
15–18 September 22
Tieranatomisches­ Theater

Open Secret
16 July – 31 December 21

The Last Museum
30 April – 6 June 21