windows.exe has stopped working

windows.exe has stopped working is about that moment of uncertainty when software begins exhibiting signs of an impending malfunction. The software stutters, glitches, begins acting erratically, sometimes altogether freezing with no indication of when normality will return. When faced with this hopeless situation the illusion of flawless technology is shattered and we’re reminded that technology is imbued with the flaws and imperfections of its creators.

windows.exe has stopped working was commissioned by Phoneix for The Idle Index

The Idle Index

The Idle Index is an exhibition and online project featuring screensavers created by artists based in, or with links to, Leicester.

Screensavers have persisted as a common feature of digital devices (computers, TVs, blu ray players etc) long after their original purpose – to protect screens from burn-in – has become obsolete.

While some systems still utilise them for practical purposes such as security, they serve for most as a reminder of our own inactivity – acting as prompts to continue working, browsing, watching or shopping.

The screensavers offered by The Idle Index place artworks into the forgotten corners of our digital space to explore ideas of work, leisure, and usefulness.

Artists Gino Attwood, Dan Cowlam, Anoushka Goodwin, Khush Kali, Ashok Mistry, Jas Singh, Antonio Roberts and Kühle Wampe have been commissioned to make new screensavers for the 2020 edition of The Idle Index.

These new works will be exhibited in our gallery space, and will be available to download as a free browser extension. The extension will allow users to select screensavers to activate during moments of online idleness, and will include pieces from the 2019 and 2018 editions of this project.

The Idle Index is part of Leicester Art Week 2020.

Art-AI: Curating the Machine

Artist and curtator Antonio Roberts will talk about his research into the affect AI and automation is having on the role of curation in the arts.

During 2017, as part of his fellowship at Near Now at Broadway, artist and Curator Antonio Roberts conducted research into the affect AI and automation is having on the role of curation in the arts.

In this presentation Antonio will present his research, which asks questions about the specific roles of curators and whether an AI can be used to fully automate an exhibition. This will culminate in a proposal for a Curator AI that he aims to develop in the near future.

No Copyright Infringement Intended

No Copyright Infringement Intended is a group exhibition exploring the relationship between copyright and culture in the digital age, investigating how the concept of ownership and authorship is evolving and coming into conflict with outdated copyright and intellectual property laws.

Since the 1990s the internet has provided the opportunity for mass copying, redistribution and remixing of content – profoundly changing the way culture is produced and shared and sparking legal battles and debates that still rage on. Today, the increasing availability of technologies like 3D scanning and 3D printing have extended the ability to digitally copy and reproduce to the physical realm.

For many people now, mass sharing, copying and remixing seems like a natural form of self expression. Rather than embracing this change and using it to their advantage, rights holders and lawyers often resort to reinforcing outdated laws – penalising those who copy – and placing barriers on technology’s ability to share information and content freely.

Meanwhile, among artists there is widespread misunderstanding of copyright and how it affects their work. The phrase “No Copyright Infringement Intended” is often used as an attempt to avoid repercussions of copyright infringement. The phrase has no legal standing, but its widespread usage shows a lack of awareness of existing laws and the consequences of breaking them.

Featuring 10 national and international artists working across a range of creative practices, the exhibition highlights the ongoing tension between production and copyright, considers the new artistic, social and political possibilities created through this tension and suggests new ways forward for artists, rights holders and the wider creative community.

The exhibition includes work by Nick Briz, Emilie Gervais, Nicolas Maigret, Christopher Meerdo, Jan Nikolai Nelles & Nora Al-Badri, Duncan Poulton, Fernando Sosa, Andrea Wallace & Ronan Deazley

Curated by Antonio Roberts, a new media artist and curator based in Birmingham. Kindly supported by Arts Council England

Copyright as Frame and Prison video

CREATe have put the video from the Copyright as Frame and Prison panel discussion online.

Using the works within the exhibition as a starting point, a panel featuring artists and copyright experts will discuss how emerging technologies are shaping creative processes, how (perceptions of) copyright enable and inhibit those technologically-enabled processes and the appropriateness of appropriation.

The panel featured exhibiting artists Andrea Wallace & Ronan Deazley (Display at Your Own Risk), Duncan Poulton (Pygmalion), alongside myself, and Dr Shane Burke (lecturer in Law at Cardiff University).

May thanks to the audience for attending and for such great questions, and to CREATe for filming it.

No Copyright Infringement Intended continues at Phoenix until 21st May.

No Copyright Infringement Intended Curator’s Tour, 11th May

On 11th May I’ll be conducting a curator’s tour of the No Copyright Exhibition currently on at Phoenix in Leicester

Join No Copyright Infringement Intended curator Antonio Roberts for a guided tour of the exhibition, followed by a chance to ask questions about the show. The tour will be preceded by a short presentation called Ctrl + C, looking at the one-way system of cultural appropriation by corporations.

The tour is free to attend. No booking necessary.

There will be two tours on the day taking place from 13:00 – 14:00 and 18:00 – 19:00. This will be a great chance to ask questions about the works and curatorial decisions. See you there!

Copyright as Frame and Prison: A Public Discussion, 28th April

On 28th April from 18:30 to 20:30 there will be panel discussion, Copyright as Frame and Prison, to coincide with the No Copyright Infringement Intended exhibition currently on at Phoenix in Leicester.

Alongside our exhibition No Copyright Infringement Intended, this discussion will highlight the disruptive power of technological innovation on culture and copyright.

Using the works within the exhibition as a starting point, a panel featuring artists and copyright experts will discuss how emerging technologies are shaping creative processes, how (perceptions of) copyright enable and inhibit those technologically-enabled processes and the appropriateness of appropriation.

The panel discussion will feature exhibiting artists Andrea Wallace & Ronan Deazley (Display at Your Own Risk), Duncan Poulton (Pygmalion), alongside myself (I curated this whole shindig), and Dr Shane Burke (lecturer in Law at Cardiff University).

This event is free. Tickets available here.

No Copyright Infringement Intended, 7th April – 21st May

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be curating the No Copyright Infringement Intended exhibition at the Cube Gallery at Phoenix, Leicester, taking place from 7th April – 21st May.

Image: Still Not Sure if Art or Copyright Infringement by Emilie Gervais

No Copyright Infringement Intended is a group exhibition exploring the relationship between copyright and culture in the digital age, investigating how the concept of ownership and authorship is evolving and coming into conflict with outdated copyright and intellectual property laws.

Since the 1990s the internet has provided the opportunity for mass copying, redistribution and remixing of content – profoundly changing the way culture is produced and shared and sparking legal battles and debates that still rage on. Today, the increasing availability of technologies like 3D scanning and 3D printing have extended the ability to digitally copy and reproduce to the physical realm.

For many people now, mass sharing, copying and remixing seems like a natural form of self expression. Rather than embracing this change and using it to their advantage, rights holders and lawyers often resort to reinforcing outdated laws – penalising those who copy – and placing barriers on technology’s ability to share information and content freely.

Meanwhile, among artists there is widespread misunderstanding of copyright and how it affects their work. The phrase “No Copyright Infringement Intended” is often used as an attempt to avoid repercussions of copyright infringement. The phrase has no legal standing, but its widespread usage shows a lack of awareness of existing laws and the consequences of breaking them.

Featuring 10 national and international artists working across a range of creative practices, the exhibition highlights the ongoing tension between production and copyright, considers the new artistic, social and political possibilities created through this tension and suggests new ways forward for artists, rights holders and the wider creative community.

The exhibition features work by Nick Briz, Emilie Gervais, Nicolas Maigret, Christopher Meerdo, Jan Nikolai Nelles & Nora Al-Badri, Duncan Poulton, Fernando Sosa, Andrea Wallace & Ronan Deazley.

In addition to the awesome exhibited works there will be a panel discussion and curator’s tour. More information on those to follow.

Many thanks to Phoenix/Chris Tyrer for inviting me to curate this exhibition and Arts Council England for their support 💯