Rotterdam museum traces history of computer viruses in new exhibition

Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam presents 'Malware: Symptoms of Viral Infection', a major exhibition running from July 5 to November 10, 2019. Curated by Bas van de Poel and Marina Otero Verzier, the show examines computer viruses from historical, creative, and geopolitical perspectives. It traces the evolution from early DOS viruses like Brain, CoffeeShop, and Crash—designed to explore visual possibilities of operating systems—to internet-era malware such as Anna Kournikova, Happy99, and Melissa, and sophisticated ransomware like PolloCrypt, Kenzero, and Cryptolocker. The exhibition also covers recent state-sponsored cyberweapons used in espionage and warfare. Artistic interpretations are featured, including works by 0100101110101101.ORG and epidemiC (Biennale.py at the 2001 Venice Biennale), Jodi.org, and etoy. The show references the 2002 exhibition 'I love you – computer_viruses_hacker_culture' curated by Franziska Nori at the Museum of Applied Arts Frankfurt. It also notes the recent sale of Guo O Dong's 'The Persistence of Chaos'—a laptop infected with six dangerous viruses—for over $1 million, commissioned by cybersecurity firm DeepInstinct.