November 8-9, 2024
Participatory exhibition & collaborative session
Indecis Artist Run
Bastion 3, str. Hector nr. 1, Timișoara, RO

Big thank you’s:
Centrul de Proiecte
Indecis Artist Run space
Andrei Tudose

Over the last year, I have been deeply immersed in a research that has been quite a challenge to take on – technology and care (not technology for care), trying to bring various discourses together and hopefully understand what makes our relationship to technology so conflicting. 

Fortunately, I haven’t been alone on this road and had quite a bit of support (big thanks to Timisoara Project Center for their amazing support, via an Energie! grant, which allowed me to nudge this research a step forward!).

Throughout history, the human relationship with technology has profoundly shaped societal dynamics (and bouncing back and influencing/ conditioning/ reforming technology step by step, into a codependent relationship, which we don’t really spend much time talking about). Early media scholarship, as highlighted in Huhtamo and Parikka’s work, often examined technology’s impact on civilization. However, most contemporary discourses still frame technology as merely a tool, neglecting its inherent influence on societal structures and the vital role of care in these complex relationships. This limited perspective often prioritises efficiency and productivity over care and well-being, both for humans and non-human entities.

Maria Puig de la Bellacasa’s “Matters of Care” (2017) sheds light on this detachment by examining the erasure of human labour in the production and maintenance of “smart” technologies. This erasure reinforces the devaluation of care work, traditionally associated with the domestic sphere and performed by marginalised groups. This dynamic perpetuates social inequalities and obscures the interconnectedness of human and technological systems.

Reclaiming care in our relationship with technology requires a shift in perspective, acknowledging technology not as a mere instrument but as an active participant in shaping social realities. Yvonne Volkhart’s “Technologies of care” argues that technologies can become “technologies of caring” by fostering connections and recognizing the interdependence between humans and the more-than-human world. She emphasises the role of aesthetic-media practices in cultivating this shift, highlighting how art can create attention and concern for the non-human world.

the silent room installation embodies this shift by inviting participants to engage in a collective act of caring for obsolete technologies. By contributing devices they no longer use but haven’t entirely abandoned, participants create a space for reflecting on the material histories and identities of these objects – each object gently anonymized and encased in a shroud of bioplastic, creating a symbolic layer of care that acknowledges its unique past and composition, while uncovering layers of history and identity embedded within these devices, prompting us to see them not just as functional items. This act of archiving and preserving can be seen as a form of care, acknowledging the labour and resources embedded in these technologies.

The participatory installation resonates with the concept of the Wasteocene, a term coined by Marco Armiero to describe our current era defined by waste and its impact on both human and ecological systems. By confronting the material consequences of technological obsolescence, The Silent Room encourages us to consider alternative ways of relating to the objects we produce and consume. The installation can be seen as an act of resistance against the unsustainable practices of the technology industry, promoting a more mindful and responsible approach to technology consumption.

Zielinski’s concept of media archaeology offers another lens through which to understand the significance of this approach. By excavating the forgotten histories and alternative trajectories of media technologies, media archaeology challenges linear narratives of progress and innovation. The installation gently growing at Indecis Artist Run space, in Timisoara’s Bastion, can be seen as a form of media archaeology, bringing together objects from different technological eras spanning the last 100 years (1910 to 2010, to be more precise) and prompting reflection on the continuities and discontinuities in our relationship with technology.

By framing care as a critical practice, the silent room encourages participants to confront the often-invisible consequences of technological production and consumption. The installation promotes a more mindful and responsible relationship with technology, fostering a future where care, sustainability, and social justice are at the forefront of our technological endeavours.

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This artistic creation was made possible through an Energie! Creative grants funding, awarded by the Municipality of Timișoara, through the Projects Center. The creation does not necessarily represent the position of the Projects Center of the Municipality of Timișoara, and it is not responsible for its content or the way it can be used.