Now in Tschumi: ‘Signals from you’ | part of Noorderlicht Biennale 2025
About this activity.
This summer, you can see Christy Westhovens' work Signals from you in the Tschumi Pavilion: an installation that shows how much invisible information there is around you.
Signals from You is part of the Noorderlicht Biennale 2025, which will take place from 12 July to 7 September at six locations in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. This 30th edition of the Biennale focuses on the entangled relationship between technology, ecology and society under the title Machine Entanglements.
About Signals from You
Our environment is not only made up of physical structures, such as buildings and roads, but also of invisible data streams from our mobile phones, electric bicycles or smart household appliances. Each place has its own digital texture, a rhythmic noise of wireless communication.
Who designs these networks? How exactly do they work and why do they work that way? How do they influence our movements, choices and freedoms? And how can we take matters into our own hands, not only as users, but as co-builders of the technological landscape? To understand how these systems work, we first need to make them visible.
Each panel within this installation represents a specific channel within the Bluetooth spectrum with which these devices exchange data with each other. Every time information comes in, the panel in question gets a push. Not only from your smartphone, but also from your earphones, smartwatch or electric bicycle, for example. The busier it is, the more panels start to turn. This way you suddenly see the amount of invisible information around you. You can't help but wonder, what information exactly am I sharing here, and with whom?
💡 Good to know: the measurements in this installation are not stored in any way or used for other purposes.
Credits
With thanks to all the people who contributed and/or contributed ideas, in alphabetical order:
- Arthur Elsenaar
- Britt van den Boogaard
- Dani Ploeger
- Kunstpunt
- Luca Tornato
- Maxigas, critical infrastructure lab
- Noorderlicht
- Pam Breedveld
- RevSpace, hackerspace Den Haag
- Tomi Hilsee
- And many, many others!
About Noorderlicht Biennale 2025
In the 2025 edition, the Noorderlicht Biennale focuses on the intertwined relationship between technology, ecology and society. The rapid technological progress has a profound impact on biodiversity, social structures and our shared past. With Machine Entanglements, Noorderlicht wants to create awareness and open the conversation: how does technology shape our lives, our landscape and our collective memory?
ℹ️ For all information, locations and exhibitions, go to 👉 Noorderlicht Biënnale: Machine Entanglements
Kunstpunt Groningen.
Kunstpunt Groningen (voorheen CBK) is hét knooppunt voor beeldende kunst. Wij lenen kunstwerken uit, begeleiden kunstopdrachten in de openbare ruimte en bij bedrijven, ontwikkelen educatieprojecten voor scholen en organiseren tentoonstellingen en activiteiten.
Kunstpunt Groningen (formerly CBK) is the hub for visual arts. We lend works of art, supervise art assignments in public spaces and at companies, develop educational projects for schools and organize exhibitions and activities.
Location.
Tschumipaviljoen
Hereplein 1
Groningen
tel (050) 317 17 07
www.kunstpuntgroningen.nl