“CO-WORKERS – Network as Artist” Exhibition at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris

There could be no more accurate title for the recently opened exhibition CO-WORKERS at MAMVP, organized or curated, or whatever they call it these days, by Angeline Scherf, Toke Lykkeberg and Jessica Castex. With scenography by New York-based collective DIS and a helping hand put forth by 89+ powerhouses Simon Castets, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Julie Boukobza and Katherine Dionysius, the exhibition is an oddly serene maze (think sensory deprivation alt. an afternoon of discussions with Data from Star Trek) that charts through artists working through networking, social media, youtube, cybernetics. It’s a series of virtual handshakes between colleagues, which, as the press release is keen to point out, know no boundaries nor limits. Of course, this is largely due to the global hug of the internet, that virtual/technological/informatic embrace that facilitates contemporary thought, if thought is even the accurate term anymore. In this, anything is possible. At that, the artist the list is comprehensive: I dare you to count the mutual friends you have with any given one of the participants on Facebook, or try to map our the synergies and links between them. CO-WORKERS features works by: Sarah Abu Abdullah & Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Aids-3D, Ed Atkins, Trisha Baga, Darja Bajagic, Ian Cheng, Douglas Coupland, DIS, David Douard, Cécile B. Evans, Valia Fetisov, GCC, Parker Ito, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, Mark Leckey, Clemency de la Tour du Pin & Agatha Valkyrie Ice, Shawn Maximo, Nøne Futbol Club, Aude Pariset & Juliette Bonneviot, Pin-Up, Bunny Rogers, Rachel Rose, Bogosi Sekhukhuni & Tabita Rezaire, Timur Si-Qin, Jasper Spicero, Hito Steyerl, and Ryan Trecartin.

Disclaimer: The Island, a multi hyphenate room slash installation slash conversation platform within the exhibition is a dangerous lure for those hoping to see the exhibition in a hurry. Part anthology of Youtube classics from the past few years, part networked lecture hall, part media archive, the space is an immersive experience—probably the most poignant virtual display of virtual artworks and their emissaries in the past years.

Text and photo Sabrina Tarasoff

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