WANDS

Pia MYrvoLD, known for her innovative and visionary new media art, is now launching a new and spectacular project. Her first generation smart sculptures, or WANDS, are ready to meet the public.

Five sculptures, with different physical expression, light patterns and pre-programmed sound recordings, will from November 19th till December 13th be on display at Atelier Nord ANX - Norway’s first gallery for new media art. In the old building, previously used as a missionary center, the sculptures will be suspended from the ceiling – like they are floating wands or mysterious creatures from another world.

As you pass them, their integrated sensors and software notice your presence, and react and respond to movement and touch. This creates a space where people can interact with machines, with data, almost like they are real, living creatures.

First showcased during FIAC in Paris, the sculptures turned out to be crowd pleasers, as the guests mingled around the sculptures, fascinated by them and drawn to them. But they also convey a message, or a comment on our contemporary society and how it might develop. As humans, machines and data become increasingly attached to each other, artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction – it is here, now.

These sculptures may not be intelligent, but they are smart. They can measure density and mass, and adjust their reaction accordingly. They appear to communicate, and seem more like companions than sculptures. When they speak, it is in morse code, repeating their names; Transhuman, Hybrid Love, Metamorphosis – and the voice is Pia's own, digitally manipulated, with a score made by Nicolas Charbonnier.

WANDS, despite their plexi-glass, plastic and metallic exterior, generate a warmth and a presence that is simply something you must experience first-hand to fully understand.