United Visual Artists: Strange Attractions

United Visual Artists: Strange Attractions

10/10 2024—13/1 2025  
Gallery 3 at Kunsthalle Praha

Curators:
Iva Polanecká
(Kunsthalle Praha),
Pavel Mrkus and Martin Pošta (Signal Festival)

For the third year, Kunsthalle Praha and Signal Festival are coming together to reveal a new audiovisual art project. Starting on 10 October, the acclaimed London-based studio United Visual Artists (UVA) will present their Strange Attractions. The practice showcases a diverse range of works that integrate new technologies with traditional media. UVA is renowned for its large-scale, performative installations and collaborative projects with musicians, including James Blake and Massive Attack. For their first exhibition in Prague, UVA chose the theme of chaos theory, using it to explore the emergence of patterns in our big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence era. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the kinetic double pendulum called Strange Attractor. Its movements are translated in real time into data and striking projections that bridge physical and digital worlds as well as experience. Three additional works—Present Shock, Etymologies, and Serendipity—further investigate the interplay of order and chaos in language and society under the pressure of overwhelming data streams. The exhibition embodies a contemporary artistic approach, translating complex scientific concepts into accessible experiences for a broader audience. It will be on view until January 13, 2025.

“The pivotal concept of the exhibition is chaos theory, originally formulated by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in the 1960s to describe the complex behaviour of dynamic systems. In UVA’s hands it becomes a tool for exploring fundamental questions about the nature of reality and our perception of the world,” explains curator Iva Polanecká.

UVA is celebrated for their ability to translate intricate scientific and philosophical ideas into compelling visual art experiences. Founded in 2003 by artist Matt Clark, who has guided the studio since its inception, UVA fosters a collaborative spirit that spans a diverse range of disciplines. The initial impetus and opportunity came from their collaboration with Massive Attack and its enigmatic frontman Robert Del Naja. At that time, the groundbreaking visuals explored themes of surveillance, misinformation, and state control. UVA continued to visually accompany the band's subversive message for several more years, establishing themselves on the London art scene. UVA’s collaboration with other professionals extends far beyond the visual arts and touches many disciplines. It includes figures such as choreographers from the Paris Opéra Ballet, filmmaker Adam Curtis, musicians James Blake and Ben Frost, and cognitive scientist Mark Changizi. Their works are also part of collections in major institutions, including the Royal Academy of Arts, Serpentine Gallery, and Victoria & Albert Museum.

This marks the third collaboration between Kunsthalle Praha and Signal Festival on an audiovisual exhibition. Together, they have showcased the young generation of digital artists, including notable Czech artist Ondřej Zunka and his Zünc Studio. Last year, they featured Lunchmeat Studio’s large-scale artwork installation. This year's partnership culminates with Strange Attractions. “United Visual Artists create dynamic experiences and atmospheric performances that envelop the audience through the interplay of light and shadow. They explore the nature of perception and cognition and reflect on the ways in which we seek to understand the world and our place in it,” adds Pavel Mrkus, curator of Signal Festival.

The centerpiece of the exhibition at Kunsthalle Praha is the double pendulum Strange Attractor, accompanied by a large-scale multi-screen projection linked to it in real time. The data records of the movements are transferred into a dynamic projection that draws the audience directly into the expansive gallery space. One arm is under motorized control, while the other introduces elements of chaos and unpredictability into the piece. Exploring the phenomena of randomness and structured patterns within seemingly chaotic systems is a key theme here.

The dynamics of this work reflect the tradition of kinetic art and light installations that developed in the mid-20th century. The fascination with light, movement, and mechanical apparatus traces back to pioneers like Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy. Their work was significant not only for its technical innovations but also for its fundamental conceptual shift in artistic creation. UVA builds upon and advances this tradition, incorporating digital technologies and algorithms while exploring their philosophical and social implications in art, nature, and society.

Further artworks Present Shock and Etymologies also engage with the contemporary debate about the relationship between humans and technology in the age of artificial intelligence. Etymologies re-arranges and deconstructs texts by Franz Kafka, creating an intriguing interaction between human consciousness and machine algorithms. The last piece, a light sculpture called Serendipity, is inspired by Lorenz's discovery of the sensitivity of nonlinear systems to initial conditions. It serves as a visual metaphor for the principles of chaos theory as two laser-projected light points intertwine in a captivating dance in the gallery.

The entire multimedia installation is an encounter with abstract concepts translated into a tangible, visually stunning form. It challenges the audience to reflect on how initial conditions and fundamental dynamics shape the world around us. Similarly, it poses questions related to life in the age of big data, artificial intelligence, information overload, and digitalization.

You can also explore exhibition texts by Iva Polanecká and Pavel Mrkus:

About the artists 

United Visual Artists (UVA) is a London-based studio founded in 2003 by British artist Matt Clark. UVA's diverse body of work integrates new technologies with traditional media such as sculpture, performance and site-specific installations. Drawing on sources ranging from ancient philosophy to theoretical science, they explore the cultural frameworks and natural phenomena that shape our knowledge, creating tools that manipulate our perceptions and reveal the relativity of our experience. Rather than material objects, UVA’s works are better understood as events in time in which the performance of light, sound, and movement unfolds.  

UVA have been represented in major gallery institutions including the Barbican Curve Gallery, London; the Royal Academy of Arts; the Serpentine Gallery, London; The Wellcome Trust; the Victoria & Albert Museum; YCAM, Tokyo, Japan and the Sydney Biennale. UVA’s studio collaborates with a variety of professionals beyond the visual arts. Collaborations span many disciplines and personalities including choreographers Animals of Distinction, Benjamin Millepied and the Paris Opéra Ballet, filmmaker Adam Curtis, musicians Massive Attack, Battles, James Blake, Ben Frost. 

About Signal Festival

Signal Festival is the largest showcase of digital and creative culture in Prague. It embarks on a journey through ecosystems filled with artworks from the fields of light design, visual and digital art, artificial intelligence, as well as conceptual art. It connects the beloved historical backdrop of Prague with the latest technologies and contemporary social themes.