Exhibition at Factory Berlin
Photo by Evelyn Bencicova
I’d rather be in a dark silence than
Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti
4-11 December 2020
Factory Berlin
I’d rather be in a dark silence than (2020)
from the Factory Berlin x Sónar+D Artist in Residence program supported by Beats by Dr. Dre.
LA-based artist duo Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti present I’d rather be in a dark silence than (2020), a multimedia interpretation of their signal blocking trench coat of the same name. Created in collaboration with fashion designer Barbara Sanchez-Kane, the coat merges conceptual art, fashion, and function. Devices and radio-frequency identification sealed in the dark pockets are unable to be reached, tracked, traced, hacked, nor monitored.
For this exhibition, Ti and Catherine collaborated with fellow artists-in-residence and Berlin-based artists to translate the coat into other outputs, culminating in an environmental tapestry around the state of privacy. They worked with Evelyn Bencicova on a photography series, and created a short film with Mishka Kornai. An AR filter by Aaron Jablonski is discoverable in the space, which is also used in the film. These works demonstrate the coat’s capability to withdraw the wearer’s identity. The exhibition score includes pieces and a combination of music by Amon Tobin, Tony Cruise, with words written/performed by Cruise entitled Privacy is Fake Now.
Fashion: Barbara Sanchez-Kane
Still photography: Evelyn Bencicova
Film: Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti, Mishka Kornai
AR: Aaron Jablonski
Performance (film): Daniela Dominique
Performance (stills): Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti
Music: Amon Tobin, Tony Cruise
Words and voice: Tony Cruise
Special Thanks: Sandira Blas, Oscar Lindahl, Catherine Bischoff, Factory Berlin, Sonar+D, Beats by Dr. Dre, Museum of Contemporary Digital Art
By Appointment Only is a series of exhibitions, shows and events from the 10 artists, creatives and collectives of Factory Berlin x Sónar+D's second Artist in Residence program supported by Beats by Dr. Dre. Events from December 2020 to March 2021.
+++
Fashion: Barbara Sanchez-Kane
Still photography: Evelyn Bencicova
Film: Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti, Mishka Kornai
AR: Aaron Jablonski
Performance (film): Daniela Dominique
Performance (stills): Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti
Music: Amon Tobin
Poetry and voice: Tony Cruise
Special Thanks: Sandira Blas, Oscar Lindahl, Catherine Bischoff, Factory Berlin, Sonar+D, Beats by Dr. Dre, Museum of Contemporary Digital Art
___
I’d rather be in a dark silence than (2020) is a signal isolation/blocking trench coat and the first piece from Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti’s Privacy Collection. The collection is an appendage project to their seminal work On View, looking at the entanglement of social media, convenience culture, extractive technologies, and data in modern society.
Created in collaboration with fashion designer Barbara Sanchez-Kane, the coat merges conceptual art, fashion, and function. The visually absurd pockets are lined with military grade fabric to keep wireless devices and radio-frequency identification offline—a technique primarily used in law enforcement, digital forensics, and executive travel protection for anti-hacking/anti-tracking and secure communications. This unassuming wearable technology doesn’t pose as a solution, but rather a temporary measure and hyperbolic reminder of the experiment we opt into every time we check ‘I agree.’ Devices and RFID sealed in the dark pockets are unable to be reached, tracked, traced, nor monitored. Despite the problematic T&Cs the wearer has signed, this trench cancels out extractive technologies—at least for a moment. (Technical specifications: nickel and copper composition blocks WiFi (2.4 & 5GHz), Bluetooth, cell signals including 5G networks, GPS, RFID, radio signals (80-100dB shielding rating from 10Mhz to 5Ghz), in addition to shielding EMI, RFI, EMF radiation).