In this two days intense workshop, we will gain insights into electromagnetic network infrastructure and apply this knowledge by creatively exploring network packets through the air. Using freely available open-source tools and cheap hardware we will capture and reconstruct un-encrypted data around us, track airplanes and boats around the city as well as listen to weather satellites. Electromagnetic signals become space for intervention and speculation. In doing so,

participants gain practical understanding to effectively read the infrastructural, social and political implications of our increased dependency on this technology.

Participants will dive into the UNIX command line interface, an ubiquitous interface to every computer from the UNIX family of operating systems powering web-servers, robots, Raspberry Pi, Linux or OS X laptops. We will interact with computers beyond restrictive desktop metaphors and learn that they don’t need to have a screen or a keyboard to be interacted with. We will use USB Wifi-Sticks and TV-USB sticks to tune into wave lengths out of the ordinary.

No prior knowledge of computer networking, programming or command line interaction is required. Please bring your laptop.

Day 1: Sun 22nd July 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm – Location: M4001, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre

Day 2: Mon 23rd July 2pm-5pm Field trip to Victoria Park or Victoria Harbour, exact location will be confirmed at the end of the first day.

Facilitator



Gordan Savičić  (born 1980 in Vienna) is an artist and designer whose work investigates the relationship between people, networks and interfaces. He is co-author of The Critical Engineering Manifesto with Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev https://criticalengineering.org . He has a background in media art and visual communication. Next to being co-author of « Unpleasant Design » and « 120 days of *buntu », he works as a professor at the Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève) and the University of applied arts in Lucerne. He received a Master degree in Media Design from the Piet Zwart Institue (Rotterdam) after finishing his studies in Media Art at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Co-founder of the media lab moddr_(Rotterdam), weise7 (Berlin) and co-author of the Critical Engineering manifesto, Savičić received various awards, such as the Rhizome Net art prize with weise7 (New York), the Transmediale award (Berlin) and several honorary mentions at the Ars Electronica festival (Linz), among others. His preferred location is the Internet spending his weekends at localhost.
 

Enrolment:
Participation is free but seats are limited (max.10 participants) RSVP

Contact:
Damien CHARRIERAS: dcharrie@cityu.edu.hk

This event is supported by the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme from Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.