28 April 23

10 pm: Reading by Nadim Samman, sonic reply by Ed Davenport

11 pm onwards: Magna Pia (live); Inland (DJ set)
Venue: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Pogo Bar
In English

no registration necessary, limited capacity

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.