October 2, 2006
Deconstructing Networks
Digital artist Jonah Brucker-Cohen has a retrospective of sorts on exhibit in Montréal; the show, “Deconstructing Networks,” is a collection of projects which shift perceptions of network interaction and experience. Works in the exhibition include “Alerting Infrastructure!,” a website hit counter that destroys a building (in fact, the Oboro Gallery site is linked into this; visiting the Oboro exhibition announcement will contribute to the work in the gallery!); PoliceState, a fleet of radio-controlled police cars whose movements are dictated by “suspicious” keywords scanned on a local network; 
Wifi-Hog,
a tactical tool to liberate public wireless nodes; SpeakerPhone, a sequence of individually addressable speakers that expose the hidden pathways of data networks; Crank The Web, a browser that allows the user to physically “crank” their bandwidth to download a website; and IPO Madness, a slot machine that generates domain names in the quest for an eventual IPO. Jonah’s work is super, and his site includes wonderful diagrammes detailing how the projects function. More photos from the exhibition are up at Jonah’s site.
On view at Oboro gallery, Montréal, until October 21, 2006.