Trinity College Dublin: Explore the hidden SYSTEMS that surround us, at home with the Science Gallery
In a time of heightened global crisis, the systems that shape our world are becoming increasingly fragile. While ecosystems are being destroyed, political processes are being manipulated, economic structures exploited and personal networks eroded, all of which are further exacerbated by our increased dependency on technological and automated systems.
Yet how much do we really know of these systems? How are they all connected, and what are the infrastructures and networks upon which they are built? How do we find out? How can we navigate, probe, critique and challenge them?
SYSTEMS: User or used? is a unique, limited-edition publication, designed and produced by Science Gallery at Trinity College. It marks the evolution of an exhibition we had been planning to showcase in person – this exhibition-in-a-box is a reimagined way of exploring and untangling the many complex systems, both visible and invisible, that surround us.
SYSTEMS the exhibition was scheduled to open in the summer of 2020 – but COVID-19 soon made those plans obsolete.
Aisling Murray, Head of Programming for Science Gallery Dublin, said:
“In the following months, we pivoted the exhibition more times than I can remember – it may hold the record for most brainstorms, concept notes and presentations ever in Science Gallery Dublin. We planned online, offsite and even the potential of an in-person experience.
“As our plans for how to execute the exhibition evolved, so did our ideas on what a conversation about SYSTEMS now meant. What had been minor themes in our original exploration now took on more prominent and important roles. With the world at a standstill, it felt like the systems in which we exist and the infrastructure that supports our societies were being tested and exposed.
“We already knew that in 2021, we wanted to take a year-long look at BIAS, exploring AI, Ethics, Trust and Justice, and suddenly SYSTEMS and the ideas explored through the selected works here seemed like the perfect primer and lens through which to set the scene.“
SYSTEMS features Irish and international artists like Adam Harvey, Ingrid Burrington and David Thomas Smith sharing their thoughts, artworks and knowledge on the hidden systems that shape our world.
You can pick up your limited edition copy today on HERE for collection or postage.