Golden Nica Interactive Art+
Mathias Jud, Christoph Wachter (CH)
In a society under constant surveillance, where governments abuse power and act against basic human rights, interventions such as Can you hear me? provide us with powerful tools to challenge these systems and make our voices heard. Wachter and Jud were asked to present work at the Swiss embassy in Berlin. In this way the artists gained access to a space for dialogue situated in the government district, next to the German Federal Chancellery. The neighbourhood houses other embassies, such as those of the British and the USA. On the roofs of these buildings is a great deal of surveillance equipment, including hidden antennas and listening devices. The artists built makeshift can-antennas, uncamouflaged and clearly visible, and situated them directly between the listening posts of NSA and GCHQ. These antennas became the starting point for an open communication network. Everyone could participate using their WiFi-enabled devices. A collective conversation space in which every participant has equal rights occupied a space usually reserved for wiretapping. Within this network the voices of the everyday citizenry found their way into the enclosures of power.
In addition to the documentation of this project there is an installation of antennas shown on the canopy of the Ursulinenhof.
