Information Wants To Be Free: Art and The Internet
Venue: ADM Gallery, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Date: 25 March – 13 May 2022
Curator: Kristine Tan
Artists: Kara Chin, Chong Yan Chuah, Thomson and Craighead, DISNOVATION.org, Bani Haykal, Bill Posters and Daniel Howe, Rachel Maclean, Michael Mandiberg and Tabita Rezaire
Images: Courtesy of Quek Jia Liang and the artists
Drawing on the development of digital technology and networks, the artists in the exhibition considered and critiqued the online information economy that governs our daily life; and raised important questions about the commercial exploitation of personal information, and compromised autonomy as a result of Big Tech.
The title, 'Information wants to be free’, references an aphorism made by Stewart Brand, editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, at a hackers conference in 1984 when he referred to how the emergence of digital technology enabled information to disseminate easily and escape proprietary barriers. Soon after in 1989, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web advanced the desire to create free open access to information, encapsulating the idealism at the heart of digital free culture.
33 years on, we have another perspective on what it means for information to be free. While giving away services which appear to be without cost, technology companies spy on users, collecting data about who they are and what they do online. This extracted data is then traded in a new marketplace, generating enormous wealth for corporations, ungoverned by any kind of moral conduct or universal law.
The show featured an international and multigenerational group of artists who engage with a variety of medium such as installation, sound and video, to explore early ideas of a free global exchange of information, and the issues surrounding an internet that can no longer claim to be democratic or neutral.
While technology is not inherently malevolent, the exhibition urged visitors to look beyond the dominant tech-utopian narrative to consider the role personal data plays in the restructuring of power and wealth in the digital age, and the need to return to the internet’s origins of an open, neutral system that services a flow of information free from exploitation.
![Exhibition Guide](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/9182bfb9-9927-4c72-b6cb-19e1642d14b6/IWTBF+brochure.jpg)
Exhibition Guide
![Opening Address by Professor Michael J. K. Walsh](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/a771630b-a9f8-4f9d-981c-4b8a72444bf5/Exhibition+Opening3_lowres.jpg)
Opening Address by Professor Michael J. K. Walsh
![Bani Haykal, ‘google teranslate memang sial // badan dia’, 2021, digital video, 8min 41 sec, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/867d83bb-78ca-4134-8279-6266c4b6a780/BaniHaykal_lowres.jpg)
Bani Haykal, ‘google teranslate memang sial // badan dia’, 2021, digital video, 8min 41 sec, installation view
![Bani Haykal, ‘3a. my computer is asking for a vibe check lol (scores) detail, 2022, prints on archival paper, 20 x 20cm](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/ea74baf9-856b-47e8-92fd-23e52d0b1fd2/Photo+12-4-22%2C+4+45+33+PM.jpg)
Bani Haykal, ‘3a. my computer is asking for a vibe check lol (scores) detail, 2022, prints on archival paper, 20 x 20cm
![Michael Mandiberg, ‘Print Wikipedia’, 2009-2022, printed books, wallpaper and shelves, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/00d0da98-1095-41fc-b889-7bec1facc5dc/MichaelMandiberg_PrintWikipedia4_lowres.jpg)
Michael Mandiberg, ‘Print Wikipedia’, 2009-2022, printed books, wallpaper and shelves, installation view
![Kara Chin, (L-R) ‘Before Alter’, ‘Followers’, ‘Fitbit Worship’ and ‘Alexa Seance’, 2020, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/f8c14afa-c28b-4bf4-b1b7-779e3ae2a229/KaraChin_lowres.jpg)
Kara Chin, (L-R) ‘Before Alter’, ‘Followers’, ‘Fitbit Worship’ and ‘Alexa Seance’, 2020, installation view
![Thomson and Craighead, ‘Live Portrait of Tim Berners-Lee (An Early Warning System)’, 2012-2022, digital projection from online sources, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/db654f71-5fb4-4f00-9248-a3c247602fb6/Thomson+and+Craighead+copy_lowres.jpg)
Thomson and Craighead, ‘Live Portrait of Tim Berners-Lee (An Early Warning System)’, 2012-2022, digital projection from online sources, installation view
![Bill Posters and Daniel Howe, ‘Big Dada / Public Faces’, 2019, single channel video, synthetic art, 3 minutes 4 sec, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/abb35e4c-adb6-4221-9a40-bc70ff3a749a/BillPosters_DanielHowe_lowres.jpg)
Bill Posters and Daniel Howe, ‘Big Dada / Public Faces’, 2019, single channel video, synthetic art, 3 minutes 4 sec, installation view
![‘Information Wants To Be Free?: Art and the Internet’, 2022, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/f8a3356d-405e-4cc1-a716-c2e98046235e/Gallery2_titlewall_lowres.jpg)
‘Information Wants To Be Free?: Art and the Internet’, 2022, installation view
![Ben Grosser, ‘ORDER OF MAGNITUDE’ and ‘DEFICIT OF LESS’, 2019 and 2021, HD video supercut with stereo audio, 47 min 15 sec, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/b4cc5924-4986-44f8-ae38-6c8f1c020a04/Gallery_View_Ben_Grosser_and_DISNOVATION_lowres.jpg)
Ben Grosser, ‘ORDER OF MAGNITUDE’ and ‘DEFICIT OF LESS’, 2019 and 2021, HD video supercut with stereo audio, 47 min 15 sec, installation view
![Rachel Maclean, ‘We Want Data’, 2016, dye sublimation fabric prints, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/f846f64c-d9e9-4445-a770-3869a7d81447/RachelMaclean_ItsWhatsInsideThatCounts3_lowres.jpg)
Rachel Maclean, ‘We Want Data’, 2016, dye sublimation fabric prints, installation view
![Rachel Maclean, ‘It's What's Inside That Counts’, 2016, digital video, aspect ratio: 16:9, single channel, 29 min 55 sec, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/1d37919e-44de-406e-803e-aa55eb64f294/RachelMaclean_ItsWhatsInsideThatCounts_lowres.jpg)
Rachel Maclean, ‘It's What's Inside That Counts’, 2016, digital video, aspect ratio: 16:9, single channel, 29 min 55 sec, installation view
![‘Information Wants To Be Free?: Art and the Internet’, 2022, installation view
DISNOVATION.ORG, 'Online Culture Wars' and 'The Persuadables', 2019 and 2021, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/c4f0f0c3-1f46-491a-a300-c1d1d023aff3/DISNOVATION_lowres.jpg)
‘Information Wants To Be Free?: Art and the Internet’, 2022, installation view DISNOVATION.ORG, 'Online Culture Wars' and 'The Persuadables', 2019 and 2021, installation view
![Chong Yan Chuah, ‘Our “Butterfly Dreams”’, 2021, digital video, 16:9, 3 min, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/1c244c3e-8fc5-48c7-ac87-4a9fde024100/ChongYanChuah_OurButterflyDreams_lowres.jpg)
Chong Yan Chuah, ‘Our “Butterfly Dreams”’, 2021, digital video, 16:9, 3 min, installation view
![Tabita Rezaire, ‘Deep Down Tidal’, 2017, HD video, aspect ratio 16:4.5, 18 min 44 sec, installation view](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63cd7ba7367dab5a0d6da72c/b19355c1-ae6e-42b0-aed6-26ea2bacf0f3/TabitaRezaire_DeepDownTidal2_lowres.jpg)
Tabita Rezaire, ‘Deep Down Tidal’, 2017, HD video, aspect ratio 16:4.5, 18 min 44 sec, installation view
Straits Times feature