Anan Fries on AI, Ritual, and Techno-Fascism at HEK Basel
Anan Fries and Marlene Wenger curate the exhibition "New Rituals for the End of the World" at HEK Basel, showcasing works by artists such as Zach Blas, Auriea Harvey, and Etsuko Ichihara. Fries addresses themes of AI mythologization and techno-fascism, highlighting Audrey Tang's Civic AI as a democratic option. Featured installations include Fries's smartphone shrine for cleansing rituals and Blas's "576 Tears," which employs facial recognition technology. Harvey transforms the Bible into an oracle through a custom keyboard, while Braga critiques social media’s belief systems in "Platform Workshippers." Ailton Krenak’s reflections on apocalypse and TikTok’s reality shifting as a digital ritual are also included.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'New Rituals for the End of the World' at HEK Basel
- Curated by Anan Fries and Marlene Wenger
- Artists include Zach Blas, Auriea Harvey, Skawennati, S()fia Braga, Christiane Peschek, Etsuko Ichihara
- Fries discusses AI mythologization and techno-fascism
- Audrey Tang's Civic AI presented as democratic alternative
- Fries's installation: smartphone shrine with cleansing ritual
- Zach Blas's '576 Tears' uses facial recognition for AI deity Lacrimae
- Auriea Harvey's work uses Bible as oracle with custom keyboard
- S()fia Braga's 'Platform Workshippers' on social media as belief system
- Etsuko Ichihara's 'Namahage in Tokyo' reimagines folklore for surveillance
- Ailton Krenak quoted on Indigenous experience of apocalypse
- Reality shifting on TikTok cited as new digital ritual
Entities
Artists
- Anan Fries
- Marlene Wenger
- Zach Blas
- Auriea Harvey
- Skawennati
- S()fia Braga
- Christiane Peschek
- Etsuko Ichihara
- Audrey Tang
- Anika Meier
- Ailton Krenak
- Jenny Stümer
- Meghan O'Gieblyn
- Mat Dryhurst
- Byung-Chul Han
Institutions
- HEK Basel
- OpenAI
- Palantir
- Meta
- X
- Nvidia
- SLEEK
Locations
- Basel
- Switzerland