Ground Truths (Aron Weber)
7min 21s – 16:9
Synopsis
Ground Truth explores the convergence of infrastructure, communication and simulation technologies through mapping the histories of telegraph cables in Porthcurno Beach, tracing how submarine internet cables are not only rewiring our planet, but our labour relations as well, giving rise to a new form of global capitalism.
Artist Statement
Ground Truth traces the constant remaking of Porthcurno Beach. The film relates different mappings of the beach in the form of LiDAR scanning, archival material and collage, establishing these competing cartographies as all simultaneously true. This reveals how, despite being a heavily fortified military location, the beach is remade over and over again to look natural. This echoes narratives used to present the pervasive logic of techno-capitalist commodification as the natural progression of the world. The form of the film draws on research by Luciana Parisi and John May about the origins of machine vision. The soundtrack is made using field recordings and applying the machine vision algorithms used for creating these maps, exploring how the “hacking” of these technologies in order to produce something they weren’t supposed to creates a “holding space” for critical inquiry.
Aron Weber
I am an artist and researcher based in London. My current research examines how information capitalism and its associated infrastructures enable new forms of exploitation and how this is reflected in the built environment. I use sound and digital media to intervene in machine vision and remote sensing systems, translating them into tangible forms. My interdisciplinary background involves bringing together fields of research ranging from critical art theory, anthropology, geopolitics and philosophy of technology, using a variety a variety of mediums such as LiDAR Scanning, artist’s moving image, print making, generative audio engines, live interventions, soundscapes.