Trial lecture: David Rych

Interference in visibility, or: How to do things with archives

In the understanding of an early media activism, access to imaging technology was seen as a way to empowerment, ideally leading to more democratic forms of visibility, inclusion and participation. Ubiquitous media and online social platforms have widened access and undoubtedly gave stage for otherwise marginalized groups and counter-narratives, often following performative strategies, to gain attention and foster alliances with global reach. Imagination is a central element of the political, and negotiated on a pictorial and visual layer where the public sphere and the digital sphere intersect. The omnipresent technology of vision expanded social visibility, which again is processed by black-boxed technologies that are largely incomprehensible to humans, fueling concerns about biases and forms of discrimination that can be perpetuated with machine accuracy in the service of governance and corporate interests. Referring back to cultural theories of the archive and performativity as a resistant strategy, this presentation invites to think about possibilities of artistic intervention, correction and insertion of counter-fiction in times of algorithmic reorganisation.

David Rych is an artist and filmmaker. A continuing theme in his work is the construction and representation of identity. His projects, videos and films engage with matters of cultural, social and political transformation as a background of aesthetic decisions. In frequent collaboration with other artists, his practice explores different approaches in documentary film and the compilation of moving image archives, for the most part dealing with production of knowledge in relation to collective identities, personal and official narratives of history and their visual representations. The projects and films of David Rych have been internationally exhibited in museums, biennales and festivals. Selected exhibition venues include: 7th Berlin Biennale; Manifesta 8 Murcia; Galerie im Taxispalais; Innsbruck, NGBK Berlin; Centro Culturtal Matucana 100; Santiago de Chile; O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, Linz; T-B A21 - Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna; GfZK, Museum of Contemporary Art, Leipzig; Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna; DEAF04 - V2 Dutch Electronic Art Festival, Rotterdam; Transmediale04, Berlin; 11th Visual Arts Biennial, Pancevo; Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon; Secession, Vienna

Links to screened Video Work:
https://vimeo.com/user14770407/videos