Do we live under technological sovereignty? These three artists reflect on and invite us to discover the flaws of a system that, despite appearing immensely solid, lacks the cunning of a human brain. As demonstrated in this case, through three single-channel pieces filled with poetry, philosophy, and thought, they question where an essential part of our relationship with machines is taking us.
The first piece, “Ecotone,” is an audiovisual essay by artist Enar de Dios, exploring the practices of control exercised over different spaces in order to keep them separate—focusing especially on border and transitional areas.
The work unfolds as a dialogue touching on various issues affecting the current capitalist system. At its core is the concept of “biocapitalism,” along with its political, technological, and strategic practices that impose power over life. This concept, popularized by Michel Foucault in the 20th century, serves as a critical lens through which Enar de Dios examines other forms of control—such as video surveillance and life with machines.
Through found footage combined with voice-over narration, these reflections are presented in segments, each separated by the sound of a ringtone that marks the pacing.
The bureaucratic field, the battlefield, the field of vision—or cartography as an extractivist act.
Where inside and outside collide. A call to act from the frontier.
On the other hand, Australian artist Olena Newkryta examines the intersection of textiles, codes, patterns, and algorithms. Her piece, “Pattern Against Workers,” speaks to the entanglements of economic, political, and engineering forces that manifest in the operating systems of our screens. It presents exhaustion not merely as a pathological symptom of capitalism’s exploitative forces, but as a condition that carries the potential for resistance.
With a more poetic and bucolic tone comes the piece by artist Xavi Bou, “Tous Les Oiseaux Du Monde.”
A poetic and critical reflection on an increasingly computerized world, the artist collaborated with the University of UCLouvain in Belgium to develop an artificial intelligence model capable of identifying birds in his videos. Using this AI model, which “learned” to recognize birds in flight by enclosing them in rectangles and recording their coordinates on the screen.
The voice heard in the background is the AI’s response to the question that gives the piece its name:
Will we ever be able to count all the birds in the world? It responds in a linear and monotonous tone, offering possible answers to this question. A kind of technological delusion trying to capture something as uncontainable as the flight of birds. Something beyond our reach—just like the artificial intelligence that evokes that same sense of uncertainty. A mystery hovering above us, outside our control.
Adopting a futuristic and intriguing aesthetic, this hypothesis feels increasingly present. Beautiful yet suffocating, the system reveals its imperfections. The machine misses birds—lending the video an ironic, playful, and even hopeful tone. It subtly exposes the vulnerability of a system that, at first glance, seems rigorous and reliable.
Text: Cecilia Vieira Tárraga
