Silicon Plateau Volume 2
19th Feb – 30th March
contributors: Sunil Abraham and Aasavri Rai, Yogesh Barve, Deepa Bhasthi, Carla Duffett, Furqan Jawed, Vir Kashyap, Saudha Kasim, Qusai Kathawala, Clay Kelton, Tara Kelton, Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Sruthi Krishnan, Vandana Menon, Lucy Pawlak, Nicole Rigillo, Yashas Shetty, Mariam Suhail.
editors: Marialaura Ghidini and Tara Kelton.
published by Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, in collaboration with The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore.
For Silicon Plateau Volume 2 the eighteen contributors to the book, responded to a main question: what does it mean to be an app user today—as a worker, a client, or simply an observer?
The result is a collection of stories about contemporary life in Bangalore, of conversations spoken and typed, of deliberations on how people behave, what they sense, and what they might think about when they use the gamut of services offered on demand, through a simple tap on a mobile device.
Silicon Plateau is an art project and publishing series that explores the intersection of technology, culture and society in the city of Bangalore. The series responds to the editors’ interest in how new technologies and their infrastructure shape people’s everyday lives, and also how they morph according to the social spaces they inhabit. Each volume of the series is a themed repository for creative research, artworks, essays and interviews that observe the ways technology permeates the urban environment and the lives of its inhabitants. The project is an attempt at creating collaborative research into art and technology, beginning by inviting an interdisciplinary group of contributors (from artists and designers, to anthropologists and social entrepreneurs) to participate in the making of each volume.
From 19th Feb – 30th March, Silicon Plateau and Banner Repeater will be sharing via instagram, facebook, and twitter, work from each of the contributors to Silicon Plateau Volume 2. During this time, copies of the book will be available to browse at Banner Repeater reading room and project space. The associated work Elevated Bangalore: Key Points for Elevation Strategies (2015) by the artist collective IOCOSE – more details below - will also be showing, alongside a collection of material from the book.
Silicon Plateau Volume 2 (in colour, and b+w) is available for purchase as a print-on-demand book and as a free ePub and PDF from the Institute of Network Cultures website, networkcultures.org. More information about the project can be found at siliconplateau.info.
INSTA INTERVIEWS
During the period of display at Banner Repeater, the co-editor of Silicon Plateau, Marialaura Ghidini has been conducting mini interviews on instagram (@marialauraghidini) with each of the contributors.
The list below summarises each contribution, with links to the instagram post, over the last 3 weeks. Updates of these will be sent each week for reading over the weekend until the exhibition close on the 30th March (join mailing list here). Copies of Silicon Plateau can be read at Banner Repeater, and will go into the Archive of Artists Publishing afterwards for further access.
Amina by writer Saudha Kasim is a story that looks at contemporary life in Bangalore from within the customer support department of a food delivery company. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJnlGplvdj/
Black Box by artist Tara Kelton is a project that explores people’s perception of the ride-sharing company Uber through working with Bangalore photo studios. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuQnR6Ml5uL/
How to Do Things with Bits and Bytes by anthropologist Mathangi Krishnamurthy is an essay that observes the call centre as a site imbued with socio-cultural values, dreams and promises. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuVkCOzlkdm/
On the Illegibility of a City by writer Deepa Bhasthi is an essay that explores the language of the city of Bangalore and the effects that apps have on negotiating urban spaces. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuapBgDlr7q/
Thursday by photographer and sound engineer Clay Kelton depicts the device-and-I-relationship and the forms of disconnection it creates with the world outside us. https://www.instagram.com/p/BundsRMFDtR/
Terms of Service by writer and researcher Sruthi Krishnan presents the author’s interactions with the workers of ride-sharing companies, as well as their socio-cultural complexities. https://www.instagram.com/p/Buvp2Lmlo-0/
Stories from the Gridlock: Ghosts in the Machine by artist and filmmaker Vandana Menon is a photo essay that offers a snippet of the dynamics of on-the-go workplaces and immigration. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu3KosdFEbb/
How Farmizen is helping people of Bengaluru reconnect with farming by linguist Carla Duffet looks at the emotional relationships customers develop with app services.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu8IJcKFbbr
Interview with Vir Kashyap is a conversation between entrepreneur Vir Kashyap and Marialaura Ghidini about the sharing economy and the future of labour.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGQJpSl2Ld
Environmental Apptivism: WhatsApp and Digital Public Spheres in Bangalore by anthropologist Nicole Rigillo is an essay about citizen’s groups use of WhatsApp to address the city’s environmental issues. https://www.instagram.com/p/BvMAZ53FFl8
The Weight of Cloud Kitchen by lawyer Sunil Abraham and law student Aasavri Rai is a report about the footprints we leave in the world with our online behaviours.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvTUSAFl4Ym
WISH WE WERE HERE! by artist Mariam Suhail is an artwork about our relationship with app services and their voices. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvdibz8lLHR
REVIEWS by designer Furqan Jawed is a visual piece about app reviews and the standardisation of performance reviews.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvljrTXFh6r
Let’s talk about the future, baby/ Let’s talk about you and me/ by designer and entrepreneur Qusai Kathawala is a toolkit for thinking about the future beyond the constraints of the present.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoUseelJ8K
