July 2016 | Gone Viral by Andrea Soler|
Extension Gallery Enterprise Square |
Edmonton, Canada
Andrea Soler's Masters of Arts in Communications and Technology capstone project titled Gone Viral: Comparing Information Flow in Biological Systems and in Online Social Networks, will be on display from July 15 to August 10.
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About Gone Viral:
The basic pattern of life is a network pattern - Capra 1996
There are patterns in our life that resemble those of other systems. As a visual artist, I find it fascinating to search for parallels between microscopic life forms and larger phenomena in nature. A few years ago, while observing human cancer cells under a microscope and learning about their seemingly chaotic yet organized behaviour, it occurred to me that there could be similarities in how diseases spread in living organisms and the way information moves through social media.
In fact, we often use expressions such as gone viral or contagious to describe how online content flows. I believe that more than random expressions, they are a deeper metaphor that draws on biological references to help us comprehend online networks as a social phenomenon, in which information transfer resembles the spread of a virus.
My research examines similarities between how we understand information flow in biological systems and in online social networks. My artwork aims to capture the sense of flow, interdependence and interconnectedness that takes place in these systems.
To be able to compare such different phenomena under the same lens, my research draws from the theoretical framework of Systems Thinking, Actor Network Theory, Information Theory and Cybernetics. My creative process is guided by the work of visual artists Thomas Saraceno, Julie Mehretu and Heather Barnett. From looking at Saraceno’s work with spiders, I understood that by tracing the movements and interactions of the actors in a network, it is possible to get a sense of how systems work.
Influenced by these theories and artists, my artwork follows three social actors: cancer cells, Twitter conversations about epidemics, and the Chikungunya-carrying mosquito. To be able to trace their movements, I used a variety of sources such as cancer cell photographs, slow motion videos of the movement patterns of mosquitoes and mapping software for Twitter conversations and hashtags, among others.
Using mainly layers, lines and organic forms, I aim to recreate with my own mark-making the clustering, density and patterns that take place in networks. Some Gone Viral pieces are made of several layers of drawings that were inspired by different systems. It is my hope that this process also permits the creation of a new metaphor, an artistic metaphor that brings to light how these systems relate to each other and create new forms of awareness.
Although I am mindful that the cybernetic metaphor that sees similar patterns of organization in biological and social systems influenced my work, I believe that my research shows similarities in how information flows in these systems. However, I still wonder whether our understanding of how diseases behave has helped to shape the way we communicate and share news online, or whether our notions of communications and networks has helped shape our understanding of diseases.
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I would like to thank my advisors from the University of Alberta, Professor Sean Caulfield and Dr. Gordon Gow, for all their support and guidance.
For more details and references please read the blog post about the creative process at andreasolerpavawordpress.com
Copyrights© Andrea Soler - All Rights Reserved