What Connects Us

Rachel Smith, Christian Doeller, Aline Martinez

Commissioned by FÖN Residency, Germany

What connects us?

What happens when we solve questions that are usually posed to machines? Would it change how we relate to one another and could it alter how we see ourselves in society? Unlike computers, humans use emotional parameters to solve their problems. A computer follows preprogrammed rules and repeats itself over and over again, responding to outside stimuli only as it was designed to. This installation is based on the collaboration between artists, machines and Visitors and aim to investigate how each individual would sort colours.

We use a well-known sorting method ("Bubble sort") in computer science and make it tangible by using 40 ribbons in different colours and arranged in a random order. It can be seen as part of a metaphorical computer. By comparing and switching neighbouring ribbons, it is possible to change this order. We know how a computer would solve a task to sort rgb colours, but what about you?

Entering the room, one encounters a light wall of brightly colored Textile ribbons that stretch vertically from floor to ceiling. It reveals an orderly Gradient that runs horizontally across its entire width. By interacting with this installation and sorting the colours, the ribbons interchange and, step by step, a pattern is woven. This pattern is a historical archive of how the previous visitors have solved the problem over time.