Ryoji Ikeda – Superposition

Overview

With all the time we're staring at our laptop screens and flicking through the TV, I think we can safely conclude that we live in a data driven age. One artist who has been continuously pushing the limits when it comes to questioning our existence in this 'whelm' of information has been Ryoji Ikeda. After the audio-visual assault of his last Carriageworks show, test pattern [no. 5], Ikeda makes his grand return to Australian shores with his new head-spinning work, superposition.

superposition is an all-encompassing performance stretching across the barriers of sound, language, physical phenomena, mathematics and human behaviour. Inspired by the mechanics of quantum theory, Ikeda breaks down reality into electronic data. Glitched-samples of bleeps spliced with footage of real-time content feeds are displayed in synchronisation over a wall of video screens, while live performers feature as the 'operator' of the installation.

If test pattern [no. 5] was anything to go by, Ikeda's superposition will be just as hypnotic: a telling reminder of technology's evolution to become a ubiquitous part of our lives.

Image: Ryoji Ikeda, superposition (Kazuo Fukunaga, courtesy the artist and Kyoto Experiment).