Particle

Victoria Vesna’s work has long focused on immersing her audiences in installation spaces that are meant to slow down time and take us into other dimensions. This led her to work in close collaborations with musicians, sound artists, nanoscientists, biologists, neuro-scientists and buddhist monks among others. Some examples of work in the past two decades are the NanoMandala, Water Bowls, Blue Morph, Octopus Brain Storming, Bird Song Diamond and most recently the Noise Aquarium. In this new work, together with her collaborators from the UCLA Art Sci collective and Harvestworks, she takes us on a meditative journey to outer space.

Premiering with the support of Harvestworks, this work is meant to be experienced as a guided meditation bringing to life the sensations of meteorites and micro-meteorites falling on all continents and mixing with the anthropogenic dust falling on our planet from many dimensions. Layers of sounds from inner and outer space with animations of dust and data driven by corona deaths are presented with the intent of honoring those who left their bodies without preparation and all who are suffering.

This online version was created as a meditation that is guided by the artist following the extra-terrestrial, terrestrial, and human-made dusts traveling far and wide and creating complexity that is part of an invisible reality. Most go about their daily life without being aware of ever thinking about the extraterrestrial dusts that could be on their kitchen floor, right here on earth. The alien signal is lost in the human noise and the group meditation reclaims our vision of planetary citizenship.

We are created from stardust by nuclear fusion, like our myriad siblings – animals, plants, insects, plankton, bacteria, and viruses, and we all function together in vibratory fields – bottom up just as nature and nanotechnology works. [Alien] Star Dust rains on us every day and this piece brings these particles to our attention and reminds us of our interconnected heritage in the larger cosmos. Dust knows no borders.

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Particle Episode 18: María Antonia González Valerio

In this episode we are joined by the ever-inspiring María Antonia González Valerio a philosopher and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), who invites us to really look at and consider how we are responding to the pandemic in our institutions, in our bodies, and in our communities. María Antonia is interested in our incapacity to stop, to slow down and questions why we as humans have responded to this unprecedented circumstance with the mentality that we must continue business-as-usual. She proclaims, "Let the extraordinary be extraordinary!

Particle Episode 17: ROGER MALINA, NINA CZEGLEDY, JOEL SLAYTON MARÍA ANTONIA GONZÁLEZ VALERIO - HOSTED BY DANIELLE SIEMBIEDA AND VICTORIA VESNA

"If you create chaos in the system, that opens for change, but who can take part in that change? What if the change is in the wrong hands?"
(Danielle Siembieda)

The second edition of Post-Pandemic Provocations, hosted conjointly by Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (Leonardo/(ISAST) and the ArtSci Center features the incredible Provocateur cast consisting of Roger Malina, Nina Czegledy, Joel Slayton, Victoria Vesna, Danielle Siembieda and features special guest María Antonia González Valerio.

Particle Episode 16: Sarah Brady

What is the material interface of the pandemic? Sarah Brady addresses this question in her work and teaching practice at University of California, Santa Barbara and discusses her experiences and current thoughts with Victoria Vesna. Sarah is interested in face-to-face and tactile exchanges between humans, emphasizing this as an essential component of research and her art practice. In the face of the pandemic, however, Brady is having to figure out new modes of material interaction.

Particle Episdode 15: Robertina Šebanič

Robertina joins us from Ljubljana, Slovenia and talks with Victoria about her shifting work and experiences brought on by the pandemic. Robertina is particularly interested in the how the environment is responding to the pandemic, noticing what species and sounds are returning to the river and how this changes the audible ecology. She has been creating a sound archive of these changes while considering what type of ecological data might come out of all of the slowing.

Particle Episode 14: Hadley Arnold

We are joined by Hadley Arnold of Arid Lands Institute and Divining Lab who talks with us about designing innovative, intelligent and data-driven systems for water security in the arid world. Hadley discusses her personal journey through the arts and humanities which have led her to understand how art, science, and history can be utilized as complementary tools to enhance the effectiveness of design. Hadley and Victoria also talk about the impacts of climate change on our water systems, and how the pandemic has exposed both vulnerabilities and possibilities for our society.

Particle Episode 13: Karamjit S. Gill

In this episode we are joined by Karamjit S. Gill, Founder and Editor of AI&Society. Gill discusses his journey with AI&Society how efforts were focused on filling a vital gap – one that was leaving people in marginalized communities out of the dialogue for social context surrounding art, science and technology. Since then, his work as a Professor and Editor have continued to foster the development and structure needed for people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to come together and share ideas.

Particle Episode 12: Haytham Nawar

Haytham joins Victoria from Cairo, Egypt where he discusses the current situation and how it is revealing deep complexities within the Egyptian socioeconomic system. He uses bread, and food distribution as the starting point for discussing these complexities as it consistently circles back to questions of how we eat, sustain ourselves, and take care of one another during these times.

Particle Episode 11: Richard Ross

This episode of Particles features the incredible Richard Ross in conversation with Victoria Vesna about his vital work and his perspective of our current position within the pandemic.

Particle Episode 10: Siddharth Ramakrishnan

Siddarth Ramakrishnan is interested in the cusp of disciplines and the dialog that arises at that juncture. Art and Science have long been thought to be completely divergent fields, but he believes that there is a lot to be discovered by blending the two, and by allowing scientists and artists to engage with one another. He has started an Art Science Collaborative at the University of Puget Sound that organizes salons, panels, and exhibitions. Currently he is a visiting Professor at the Borough Manhattan Community College part of the City University of New York.

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Particle

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