Subnet Talk | Rosa Menkman | Im/possible Images

Images are per­va­si­ve; they are used to enter­tain, to gui­de, to ser­ve as evi­dence or as tools for dis­co­very. But they can also be invi­si­ble, made for machi­nes and by machi­nes in order to fil­ter, track, clas­si­fy, sort, or dele­te. As such, they con­sti­tu­te and influence the fabric of our ever­y­day lives. Some­ti­mes it is even said that one’s life is now ruled by a regime of the opti­cal. How are such regimes constructed?

In order for an object or thing – light or other type of data – to enter the visi­ble domain and to beco­me an image, it needs to be resol­ved. It needs to pass through a pro­cess invol­ving stan­dards, rules and com­pro­mi­ses. As a result, under the fold of our image pro­ces­sing tech­no­lo­gies, the­re is a com­plex sys­tem that con­sti­tu­tes our images and the opti­cal regime we abide by. Span­ning from all pos­si­ble images to invi­si­ble images, Im/Possible images brings tog­e­ther stra­te­gies and methods of making visi­ble. It also explo­res the con­di­ti­ons of image making today: how do reso­lu­ti­ons shape images and how does the pro­cess of resol­ving com­pro­mi­se its ren­de­ring? Can one lis­ten to an image? When do aberra­ti­ons and trans­la­ti­ons turn into ‘fal­se’ repre­sen­ta­ti­ons? And how has the field of com­pu­ter simu­la­ti­on expan­ded the rules and func­tio­ning of our imagery?

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