Where we emerge - Ars Electronica 2021 by Mariana Mejia Garcia

The whole world experienced the struggles of life in confinement and how it boosted our relationship with the digital world. This collective experience marked a watershed in the way we experience life. WHERE WE EMERGE is a pop-up exhibition in which students of the Art & Technology Studies department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago reflect on this change in our society. Through installations, media work and 3D sculptures, the exhibition responds to this close relationship that has emerged with the digital world and how we deal with it while questioning its benefits and shortfalls. It is an invitation to think about our faculty to take action and claim our right to participate in shaping the world we want for our future. The LeRoy Neiman Center at SAIC will be hosting the exhibition for three weeks where people will be able to engage with the artwork on site. WHERE WE EMERGE will also have an online presence, where documentation from the physical show along with work from additional artists will be available for international audiences.

The Great Outdoors explores digital simulation of nature within the domestic sphere. We regularly encounter imitations of nature in our daily lives: neighborhood pools, white noise machines with ocean and rainforest sounds, sun lamps, and plastic plants all recreate natural phenomena that we crave (or require) as humans and yet have become isolated from in contemporary urban society. Shelter-in-place mandates brought on by the pandemic increased the appetite for access to nature that could only be delivered digitally. The Great Outdoors aims to tap into the seemingly universal need to be connected to nature while also scratching at an uncomfortable truth that we, as humans, often tend to think of ourselves as outside it. By placing stock images of stunning landscapes onto digital photo frames and hanging them in a living room scene where one might typically find a wall of family photographs, The Great Outdoors satirically questions if there will be a point where people no longer go on real trips to natural wonders, but instead can be satisfied by a superficial, eerily perfect, digital experience. All the images are sourced from the Windows 10 Spotlight program, a modern-day screensaver that cycles through photos of natural settings on all Microsoft computers. Other reproductions of nature also populate the living room, including a bowl of 3D printed fruit, an iPad-painted imitation of William Morris’ famous Willow Boughs wallpaper, and a neon faux plant.

Sarah Brophy

Sarah Brophy

The great outdoors, 2021

8ft, 7ft, 3 ft

Multimedia: ipads, wood, wallpaper, neon, plastic plan, 3D-printed fruit, glass bowl, chair, rug

Sarah Brophy

Through the activation of geometric shapes, found patterns, and moving images, Sarah Brophy’s multimedia installations create sensory experiences that consume space in unexpected ways and test the transcendental capabilities of 21st century technology. Her work often explores the digital simulation of natural phenomena, searching for what gets lost or gained in the transfer from physical object to intangible pixel. Sarah received her BA in Studio Arts from Bard College and is currently pursuing her MFA in Art and Technology Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited in multiple large scale public art events including the Berlin Festival of Lights, Chicago’s 150 Media Stream, ILLUMINUS Boston, and Boston’s Art on the Marquee program, as well as in Gallery 263 (Boston), Williamsburg Art and Historical Society (Brooklyn), and Savvy Contemporary (Berlin)

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