ACCA

ACCA (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art) is in the heart of Melbourne's Arts Precinct and its modern and innovative exhibitions reflect the current art scene. The building itself is architecturally award winning and draws many artists and students. The exhibition Data Relations is a great representation of this, it comments on the current shift in technology in the rapid increase of artificial intelligence and other programs that are collecting our data. It considers our expanding data economy and its social outcomes as we inhibit a data obsessed society. Miriam Kelly, the exhibition curator, says the works are profound, humorous, poetic and confronting. I find this to be the perfect explanation the show feels complete as it explores the same topic through varying forms and moods and leaves viewers satisfied. ‘After Words’ presented by Sean Dockary, James Parker and Joel Stern (Machine Listening) was exhibited as a sound installation, using high quality surround sound systems thin dark room with chairs in a row and spotlights lighting each chair. The setting itself felt very isolating and watching the person in front and only seeing the back of their head further disconnect you. It also makes you aware of the person behind you watching the back of your head. The piece probes the politics of artificial intelligent home devices and the concept of the ‘wake word’ a phrase that prompts a device to start recording then send it to the cloud. This installation created a very visceral feeling of being alone and watched representing a utopian world led by home devices. The exhibition was a great reflection of the overall intention of the exhibition. The content was something I was unfamiliar with but throughout the exhibition I learnt to be concerned with its concerns.  The effectiveness of the sound element of the work has inspired me to incorporate more speech into my work.