Cuddly circuits in motion

Mónica Rikić

Coinciding with Loop Festival 2024, LAB 36 presents three works by the electronic artist and creative programmer Mónica Rikić.

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PSYCHOFLAGE
Large-scale, multi-sensory interactive installation that transforms the exhibition space into a psychedelic dream and fantasy world. It consists of twenty inflatable modules made of colorful fabrics, equipped with handmade interactive electronic systems that control fans and lights. The devices generate various movements as they inflate and deflate, giving the sensation of organic breathing. Instead of presenting an aesthetic dominated by metaphors of productivity, speed and competitiveness, which are often associated with technologies, the piece invites us to approach them in a calm and relaxed way, offering an experience akin to spirituality.

SPECIES I, II AND III
Beyond questioning the technological resources necessary to develop a future artificial 'consciousness', this project argues that its possibilities of existence depend largely on a question of philosophical attribution. To this end, the three robotic devices that are part of the work are built from algorithms inspired by philosophical ideas that propose alternative ways of existing, evolving and feeling, through programming and creative electronics. With their movements, they seek to generate a sense of existence away from the simulation of the human, to explore their own machine essence.

HYPERBOLE
It is a mechanical and algorithmic experiment whose goal is to design and develop an alternative cognitive machine, built from handcrafted electronics. This machine differs, intentionally, from the predominant use of mainstream AI techniques, such as Machine Learning. It is intended to be recognized by the audience as cognitive, emphasizing its operational characteristics and the structure of its code. Unlike other proposals at the intersection between AI and art, which often focus on the creative potential of machines, this project investigates and experiments with the essential characteristics that artificial cognitive systems must possess in order to be recognized as existing organisms. Only after this process of autonomy of technical systems can we really speak of the creativity of machines.

Mónica Rikić

Electronic artist and Catalan National Culture Award 2021.

She develops her practice through code and creative electronics, combining them with non-digital objects to create interactive projects and robotic installations. Her interest lies in artistic research and critical thinking around alternative technologies and open hardware.

Her projects have been exhibited in different renowned national and international institutions and festivals for more than ten years. Her pieces are part of collections such as the .NewArt {foundation;}, the DKV Collection or the Col·lecció Nacional d’Art Contemporani de Catalunya.

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