Digital art comes into play to rekindle hope

In an era of great global transformations, hope proves to be an essential element in addressing the uncertainties and challenges of our time; it not only fuels resilience in the face of change, but also acts as a catalyst for collective action, inspiring visions of a better and sustainable future. Hope can be a crucial resource not only at the individual level, but also at the societal level, enabling communities to mobilise towards common goals and build resilience in a changing world. In processes of cultural hybridisation, human beings seem to embody the figure of the tightrope walker described by Nietzsche, an existence always poised "in an intermediate space between a future that cannot be guaranteed and a frantic pace of progress that seeks a future" (Braidotti, 2008).

In this context of post-anthropological transformations, digital arts and technological innovations can trace paths in which to explore alternative opportunities, awaken consciousness and encourage dialogue. Creativity can thus help to strengthen the social fabric and promote possible spaces for change. This is one of the aims of the Ars Electronica festival in Linz (4 - 8 September 2024), whose title is 'Hope - who will turn the tide'. Shaking consciences in the face of feelings of unease and distress is the work 'Smoke and Mirrors' by Beatie Wolfe (Great Britain), a visualisation that highlights the ever-increasing tension between scientific facts about global warming and ideological denialist positions. The video spreads six decades of climate data and focuses on rising methane levels compared to the advertising slogans of big oil companies to 'deny, doubt and delay' climate information.

But hope, as Gerfried Stocker, artistic director of Ars Electronica, emphasises, should not be understood "as a passive situation, but as an active force that motivates us to go on despite adversity". An example of this is the work "Washed Out 'The Hardest Part'" by Paul Trillo (USA), an invitation to let go of a loved one, cultivating the hope of continuing to dream of them even after death. It is the first music video made with Sora, the generative text-to-video artificial intelligence model developed by OpenAI. The story tells the most important moments of a couple, from middle school to the afterlife. The artist relied on Sora's dreamlike logic to explore memories that never existed: the scenes seem to flow without interruption with human figures, landscapes and objects that merge and deform, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy.

Connections between different techniques and technologies to hand down and enhance ancient cultures are the basis of the work 'Nosukaay' by Diane Cescutti (France). It is an interactive installation that reproduces a textile machine, a hybrid form between a computer and a West African loom. On a screen, the deity Nosukaay tells a story highlighting the links between computers, Manjak weaving knowledge and mathematics: the viewer can participate in the narration, using the Manjak pagne as a real keyboard.

Also in the bio-art project by Amir Bastan (Ireland) and Noor Stenfert Kroese (Netherlands), a coexistence of distant worlds is created, a kind of dialogue between reishi mushrooms and a robotic system. "Zoe" is an ecosystem in which nature and technology take care of each other and influence each other through sensing technologies. By highlighting the new dynamics of relationships between different disciplines, "Zoe" is one of the languages that demonstrate how the concept of art is rapidly changing and how creativity can also develop on delicate balances in a biocentric perspective.