Uninvited: Digital Exhibition Blurs Horror and Reality at Furtherfield Gallery
From October 31 to January 31, the "Uninvited" digital exhibition by Nye Thompson and Ubermorgen is showcased at Furtherfield Gallery in London. It can be accessed online at uninvited.icu or through a QR code placed outside the venue. This project delves into themes such as anxiety, lust, and horror, examining the concept of "network consciousness." Attendees are met with dystopian visuals of vacant spaces, echoing the isolation experienced during the pandemic. Thompson characterizes the work as a vast botnet, where surveillance cameras create a networked organism. An avatar named "Monster" engages with gallery visitors. The narrative, crafted by sound designer Thom Kubli, is divided into five movements, comprising twenty phases derived from two still images analyzed via machine learning. This initiative builds upon Thompson's previous work, "Backdoored" (2016-2018), emphasizing human vulnerability in the face of extensive surveillance.
Key facts
- Exhibition runs from October 31 to January 31 at Furtherfield Gallery, London.
- Accessible online at uninvited.icu or via QR code outside the gallery in Finsbury Park.
- Created by Nye Thompson in collaboration with Ubermorgen.
- Described as an invisible superorganism oscillating between anxiety, lust, and horror.
- Responds to the rise of 'network consciousness' and reflects on perceptual mechanisms.
- Uses a mockumentary style blending reality and fiction.
- Spectators observe dystopian images of empty squares and closed galleries via website.
- Pandemic confinement allowed machines to act undisturbed using CCTV cameras.
- Project is the unexpected result of a massive botnet of infected devices, mostly surveillance cameras.
- One avatar called 'Monster' is active inside Furtherfield Gallery, responding to visitors.
- Sound designer Thom Kubli structured narrative into five movements and twenty phases.
- Images analyzed by machine learning services; results expanded into AI-generated text.
- Builds on Thompson's earlier work 'Backdoored' (2016-2018) using compromised surveillance camera images.
- Explores themes of human vulnerability, mass surveillance, and automation's unpredictability.
Entities
Artists
- Nye Thompson
- Ubermorgen
- Thom Kubli
- Jacopo De Blasio
Institutions
- Furtherfield Gallery
- Artribune
- MAXXI
- Antinomie
- Juliet Magazine
Locations
- London
- Finsbury Park
- United Kingdom