Trance looks into the charm and allure of being engaged with technology on the one hand, and the darker side of these rapid developments on the other. The presence of these objects is so mundane and pervasive, even to the point that not having one could give an individual the feeling of isolation from the social context altogether,” says Ilari Laamanen, curator of the exhibition. The exhibition focuses on technological trance as people’s dependence on screens, and it examines how the transition from photographic images to interactive screens, as well the intimately intertwined relationship between the two, marks one of the most significant and destabilising changes in the way in which humans perceive reality, but also how contemporary art can be a fertile ground for making sense of the relationship between technology and the human experience.
According to Laamanen, an art exhibition offers an environment where alternative ways of communicating and transmitting information can be used: “The artists in the exhibition utilise glitch as a conceptual tool, which offers the viewer an opportunity to take a break, step back from the technological trance, and contemplate on the meanings and significance of art and images.” The presented artworks invite viewers to perceive and analyse various means of (audio)visual presentation and to review their own relationship with watching.
Trance brings together local and international artists of different generations who work with various disciplines. The artists in the exhibition absorb, hack and reformat conventional means of (audio)visual presentation through existing and newly commissioned work. They present idiosyncratic encounters between bodies and technologies and utilise glitch as a conceptual tool – a split in time, a gesture that by design requires a moment of remediation and reflection.
The artists participating in the main exhibition are Sara Bjarland (FI/NL), Zody Burke (US/EE), Patricia Domínguez (CL), Elo-Reet Järv (EE), Karel Koplimets (EE), Diane Severin Nguyen (US), Veli Granö (FI), Laila Majid (AE/UK) and Louis Blue Newby (UK), Norman Orro and Joonas Timmi (EE), Pire Sova and Ando Naulainen (EE), Viktor Timofeev (LV/US), Anu Vahtra (EE), Jessica Wilson (US) and artist group CUSS Group (ZA).
