BEHIND THE CLOUD: INTERROGATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
BEHIND THE CLOUD: INTERROGATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
Liliana Farber
ARTWORKS
Through a research-based process, Liliana Farber’s works Terram in Aspectu (2019) and To Hold (2021) reveal the space between online and offline worlds where human input and algorithms can potentially coexist. For this presentation of Terram in Aspectu, Farber presents a series of nine satellite photographs that depict images of non-existent or phantom islands based on historical maps that were proven over time not to exist. In these inkjet prints, green grassy land masses rise out of the ocean with halos of varying shades of blues surrounding the earthly islands. Using a machine learning algorithm trained on Google Earth, she renders these non-existent islands into depictions of physical land masses. Farber’s work critically analyzes how even over time and with the advancements of information-based technology, there remains the possibility for errors and biased-based coding that potentially impacts geographic mapping and knowledge of our world. She ultimately generates a discussion on the role of technology in the mapping of spaces and worlds that exist between online and offline realms. Finally, Farber’s single-channel video To Hold furthers the conversation between technology and indexing of our world by depicting a catalog of single pixelated colors representing the oceans based on Google Earth readings.
Further Reading
Park C. Myers, Algorithmic Extremes in Terram in Aspectu
Liliana Farber, Digital Oceans & Algorithmic Castaways
Interview by Eric Hurtgen, The Hidden, in Plain Sight: The Work of Liliana Farber
Interview, From the Desk of Liliana Farber
Artist Bio
Liliana Farber (1983, Uruguay) lives and works in New York. Farber’s artworks examine knowledge production within global scale infrastructures. She holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design, New York; Postgraduate Fine Art Studies from Hamidrasha School of Art, Israel; and a B.A in Graphic Design from O.R.T University, Uruguay. Farber’s work was exhibited at The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Lisbon; The Center for Books Art, New York; Ars Electronica Festival Linz, Austria; Arebyte Gallery, London; Panke Gallery, Berlin; The National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile; The National Museum of Visual Arts, Montevideo, Uruguay; WRO Media Art Biennale, Wrocland, Poland; Oblique Nuage Gallery, Paris; 1708 Gallery, Richmond, V.A, USA; and Raw Art Gallery, Tel Aviv, among others. Farber is a recipient of the Lumen Prize for Art and Technology, UK; The Network Culture Award from Stuttgarter Filmwinter Festival, Germany; Artis grant, USA; and Asylum Arts grant, USA. Her artworks have been featured in On Curating, Switzerland; MIT’s Leonardo Journal, USA; Erev-Rav, Israel; Haaretz, Israel; and El Pais, Uruguay.