opening: saturday, March 23, 17.00-19.30h

Upstream Gallery is proud to present Hello, world!, the inaugural solo exhibition of Joan Heemskerk with the gallery.

Joan Heemskerk is a Dutch contemporary artist, who in recent years has cultivated an artistic practice centred around the internet, with a current focus on exploring the potentials of w3b4, spanning from cryptography systems to the realm of quantum non-binary computing. Heemskerk got recognition as a member of the legendary art collective JODI, which pioneered net.art in the 1990s.

Heemskerk’s work is characterized by dissecting, exposing and visualising the digital structures on which we rely on a daily basis, and that form the foundation of our information-driven society. She explores the norms and challenges of the languages of the internet and computer programs, and how digital systems transmit and exchange information. In doing so, she also speculates about the future, when computers may no longer speak in binary language (in ones and zeros), as is the case in quantum computing.

One of the main themes in the exhibition, and from which derives its title, is the artist’s exploration of creating a new universal language that could surpass barriers across galaxies and life forms, through a re-assessment of the ubiquitous "Hello, world!" string in computer languages. Throughout the exhibition, the message "Hello, world!" recurs in various encrypted forms, providing insight into existing cryptography systems and exploring new possibilities for future data transmission and storage.

In 2023, as the first recipient of CERN’s Collide Copenhagen residency award, Heemskerk undertook a two-month residency between CERN in Switzerland and Copenhagen Contemporary. Some of the works in the exhibition originated from the research and findings she gained there, further enriching her exploration.

 

 

Hello, world! | Joan Heemskerk
Kloveniersburgwal 95, Amsterdam
23 March - 26 April, 2024