Friday, March 16 @ 8-11pm
no-W-here, a group of interactive multi-media works by University at Buffalo MFA candidate Bernard Aaron Dolecki
Consisting of a selection of interactive installations, no-W-here (now here/nowhere) is an exhibition that invites users to interact in real/analog space while being channeled through a variety of electronic and digital interfaces. By questioning our sense of identity via the interplay of analog and digital technologies, participants are confronted with their transmediated selves, placing participants in the grey area between digital and analog spaces. Through interactive investigations interogating how individuals utilize technology as an extension of the body, Dolecki challenges our notions of ‘being’ and exposes the underlying structures of the self within the constructs of varying technologies.
In the installation piece Simulated Sentience 2.0, outmoded CRT televisions are stacked to form five monolithic structures devised of five unique digital interfaces, allowing visitors to interweave a digital representation of the their physical selves with others in the system. Analog sensors and cameras are utilized to harness real-time data, outputting dynamic visualizations and synthesized audio, transforming each spectator’s movements into telematic expressions. This work highlights the interplay of our transmediated selves, exposing the underlying paradox: How can technology be pulling us together while simultaneously driving us apart?
Constantly exploring disciplines, Bernard Aaron Dolecki melds hybrid media, consisting of old and new technologies, into interactive installations that offer playful audio/visual experiences. His current practice explores the interplay between hybrid-media and the transmediated self. He received his BFA from Alfred University’s Art & Design program in 2014, where he explored numerous fields including electronic media. Dolecki’s work has been exhibited in several regional galleries and was also featured in the 2015 U.S. Solar Decathlon. He’s currently an MFA candidate and instructor in the Department of Art at SUNY University at Buffalo.