The Cascades is a multi-channel installation that brings together an ongoing series of work by artist Daniel Shanken. The installation focuses on networks of information that run in the background of our lives, filtered and curated by intelligent algorithms that push bias and dissonance.
Centering on the probing and prodding, dissecting and inverting, looping and prying of these networks and their manipulating algorithms, this project produces ongoing renderings of generative worlds, fortuitous narratives, animations, and objects, while considering their real-world impact and cannibalization of the natural environment.
Incorporating live content feeds from multiple sources online, the work builds an environment that fluctuates with incoming content scraped from the internet in real-time. It uses randomness derived from physical sources such as radioactive decay and atmospheric noise to shuffle and display material in unpredictable combinations that are never the same.
The installation creates a spontaneous environment that allows viewers to enter through interfaces other than the normal internet screen space we confront on a daily basis. The work reflects the remnants of discarded technological production, oversaturated media landscapes, data centers, landfills, and mining tunnels. It draws on the intangible data-points, machine learning algorithms, and rendered objects we often encounter in the periphery.
This project was made through research conducted during his current PhD with the Contemporary Art Research Centre (CARC) at Kingston University.
Daniel Shanken is an artist working across disciplines and media. His practice explores the interplays between technology and cognition, examining their ongoing effects on the environment, consciousness, and culture. He has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Hong Kong Arts Centre, JCCAC in Hong Kong, Cloud Art Museum in Shanghai, ICA in London, Art Basel Hong Kong, Whitechapel Gallery in London, CCA in Glasgow, Nottingham Contemporary, CFCCA in Manchester, V Art Center in Shanghai, and Kiasma in Helsinki.
