On 21 to 23 November, HeK (House of Electronic Arts Basel) will celebrate its reopening at new premises at Freilagerplatz on the Dreispitz area in Basel. The opening event will be accompanied by a solo performance by the Japanese sound and video artist Ryoji Ikeda. In close cooperation with the artist, HeK will subsequently present Ikeda’s first ever exhibition in Switzerland. Ikeda, born in 1966, is a leading composer and visual artist in the field of electronic art and new digital technologies.
His audiovisual works cannot be clearly classified but meet today’s demand for an interdisciplinary approach by using both audio-acoustic media on a par with visual media. In his long-term project ‹TEST PATTERN›, which he has continued since 2008, he has developed a system that converts any type of data, whether it be texts, sounds, photos or images, into barcode patterns. These barcodes can then be accessed and experienced in his installations which combine both sound and imagery. Abstract data, omnipresent in today’s world, is thus encountered by the observer in a tangible and perceptible way.
The artist showcases his audiovisual installations and performances around the globe and has already released several recordings of his electronic music. He is not only a well-known figure in Japan, but has also made a name for himself throughout Europe. He received, for instance, the Golden Nica Award at Ars Electonica in Linz for ‹matrix› (2000) in 2001.
In June 2014, he received enthusiastic reactions for his program ‹test pattern› performed at the Kaserne Basel. Thus, there are high expectations of his exhibition in HeK.
Curator: Sabine Himmelsbach
