SIMULACRA
IMAGES APPEAR AS IF FROM NOWHERE, 2013
Karina Smigla-Bobinski (DE)
At the heart of SIMULACRA are four LCD monitor panels, assembled in the form of a hollow square. The ensemble appears to have been gutted, and looks almost overgrown. A tangle of cables and control devices pours out of the middle of the square. Around it, several magnifying lenses with polarised lenses dangle from chains. The monitors don’t display any pictures, and shine with an intense white light — but with the help of the magnifying lenses, function is restored to the screens and their secrets are revealed. Is this process happening in our brains, or in the lenses?
SIMULACRA builds a bridge between technology and perception, and explores the difference between subject and view, and between image and reality.
BIO
Karina Smigla-Bobinski lives and works as a freelance intermedia artist in Munich and Berlin, Germany. She studied art and visual communication at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland and in Munich. Karina works with analogue and digital media, and produces and collaborates on projects ranging from kinetic sculptures to interactive installations and art interventions, which feature mixed reality and interactive art objects. She also works with video, multimedia physical theatre performances and online projects. Her works have been shown in 43 countries on five continents at festivals, galleries and museums. Currently, she is a Visiting Research Fellow and Artist in Residence at ZiF Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld University’s Institute for Advanced Study in Germany. She has broadcast and lectured widely and held artist residencies at many universities and cultural organisations worldwide.