2016 · Curated exhibition · apexart, New York

    Youniverse

    3 November – 17 December 2016 · Curated and organised by Hannes Bend

    Youniverse brought contemporary art, technology, science and contemplative practice into a participatory exhibition at apexart. Curated by Hannes Bend, it explored awareness, perception and how people experience themselves in relation to others. Visitors encountered artworks alongside a changing programme of shared experiences, making participation central to the exhibition.

    The exhibition was presented at apexart, 291 Church Street, New York, NY. Hannes Bend's role was curatorial: he conceived and organised the exhibition and its programme. The individual artworks and sessions listed below remain the work of their respective artists.

    Programme

    • SoundSelfRobin Arnott

      A voice-responsive audiovisual work: the participant's own vocalisation drives the sound and image.

    • Geobacter MicropulseInterspecifics Collective

      Translates the electrical activity of microbial cultures into light.

    • Opening sessionsLisa Levine and Malia Kulp

      Shared sessions presented as part of the opening programme.

    • Magnetic sound bathsMJ Caselden

      Reported by Hyperallergic as part of Youniverse; the article's first photograph was taken at Knockdown Center, not at apexart.

    Programme details follow the official apexart opening programme and the reported Hyperallergic coverage listed below. These are documented artistic experiences; no medical or therapeutic effect is claimed.

    Relation to later work

    Read retrospectively, Youniverse sits in the same line of enquiry as Hannes Bend's later bioadaptive and Somatic AI research — attention, perception and the body as material. That reading is an interpretation made now; in 2016 the exhibition was presented as a curatorial project in contemporary art, not as technology research.

    Exhibition dates
    3 November – 17 December 2016
    Opening reception
    2 November 2016, 6–8 pm
    Venue
    apexart, 291 Church Street, New York, NY
    Role
    Curator / organiser — Hannes Bend
    Type
    Curated group exhibition with a participatory programme
    Note
    Artwork creation dates differ from the exhibition dates — for example, Antonia Wright's Be is dated 2013 as an artwork.

    Exhibition sources

    Press

    Related

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