A super-computational grid overlaying the earth’s surface, an all-seeing, floating ecosystem, an Uber-planet, an internet of things in which the things are us, is recording and storing our every movement. We subscribe to it—willingly providing it with our data. The permanent input channel of billions of facts per second—GPS coordinates, heartbeats, selfies, currency fluctuations, etc.—into the super-computational megastructure, is always pushing for a transparent world. In that world “Truth” would cease to be a word because there would be records of everything.
Metahaven, founded by Vinca Kruk and Daniel van der Velden, is a collective operating on the cutting blade of aesthetics and politics. An activist outfit across art, design, writing and filmmaking, Metahaven started working on speculative design projects in the early mid-2000s before officially becoming a studio in 2007. As activist designers, Kruk and van der Velden have worked with organizations such as WikiLeaks, Independent Diplomat, the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, and more recently, Sea Shepherd Global. Recent solo presentations include 'Information Skies', Auto Italia, London (2016), ‘The Sprawl', YCBA, San Francisco (2015), ‘Black Transparency', Future Gallery, Berlin, (2014), and ‘Islands in the Cloud', MoMA PS1, New York (2013). Metahaven's first full-length documentary, ‘The Sprawl (Propaganda about Propaganda)', premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2016; its successor is a short fiction film titled ‘Information Skies’ (2016).
