The Long Now – Verena Friedrich (DE)

„Whenever we contemplate the future, we must inevitably address the question of time. How long does the present last? Is it possible to conserve the fragile present, and when will it become a memory bubble? Just like animals, humans do not actually have a sensory system for the past and for the future. Consequently, we obsessively attempt to preserve the present, to prolong our existence, and to approach immortality. This is to be achieved in a Faustian pact with science, medicine and technology. Verena Friedrich has found a contemporary three-dimensional image for this quest. With considerable technological effort, she prolongs the life of a soap bubble, known in art history since the 17th century as a symbol of impermanence.“– Hermann Nöring

THE LONG NOW was developed in the context of EMARE Move On at OBORO’s New Media Lab and a residency at Perte de Signal, both in Montréal. Supported by the cultural program of the European Commission, the Goethe-Institut, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, FACT Liverpool and the Kunstfonds Foundation, Germany.

Verena Friedrich is an artist creating time-based installations in which organic, electronic and sculptural media come into play. Theoretical research and practical hands-on experiments with very diverse materials, objects and functions are the starting points of her artistic work. Furthermore, she is interested in direct interaction with scientists and hands-on work in the bioscientific laboratory. She was an artist in residence i.a. at “SymbioticA – Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts” at the University of Western Australia and at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing Cologne in Germany. Verena Friedrich´s projects have been presented internationally in the context of exhibitions, media art festivals and conferences. She received the International Media Award for Science and Art from ZKM Karlsruhe 2005; a special mention in the VIDA 13.2 Art and Artificial Life Awards; an honorary mention in the Prix Ars Electronica 2015; a jury mention in the Japan Media Arts Festival 2015 and the Transitio_MX award in 2017. In recent years she has been teaching at the University of Art and Design Offenbach and the Bauhaus University Weimar, both in Germany. Together with two other colleagues she is currently running the „exMedia Lab“ (her focus being on DIY technologies, biological and ecological arts) at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.