Joseph Nechvatal

viral castratO

September 8th – October 4th 2015

Presented by

Budapest Art Factory

H-1138 Budapest, Váci út 152-156

www.budapestartfactory.com

viral castratO

Viruses in Hungary

by Délia Vékony

The exhibition viral castratO by American artist Joseph Nechvatal, hostedby Budapest Art Factory (on view from Sept. 8- Oct. 4) is taking place inBudapest, Hungary in times highly sensitive for symptoms viruses of anykind can possibly cause. Nechvatal’s installation, a digital work in whichcomputer viruses consume digital paintings has a universal reference to

change, chance, disturbance of order and the uncanny.

Yet, the piece can also be understood within the light of the current socio-political framework in which thousands of migrants, mostly from Syriaarrive to Hungary weekly. They intend to cross the country and head to

Germany and other northern countries in hope for a better future. For havingany future at all, to be precise.

In spite of the hardships these people go through to arrive to Europe alive,by many they are seen as an infection on the body of the continent.

Nonetheless, they are at our borders and no matter how many fences areerected, they are coming in and wanting to move on. Although the EU

allocates considerable sums for dealing with the current migration crisis,there is not a consensual decision about what to do with the crowds arriving.Hungary is reluctant to claim any responsibility, but other EU countries alsokeep on changing their attitude. Although Europe is obviously not ready for

accepting so many people looking for a new life, it is striking to see thatmigrants are looked upon as viruses that are here to invade the mother-body.

Instead of thinking of them as change that could result in new, refreshingheterotopias, in new bodies that might be the alteration and reshaping of theold, anachronistic order, these people are seen as infectious disease, here to

pollute and destroy. Surely if mother-body Europe is not learning to ‘mutate’and adjust to this change, it shall die a painful death while resisting.

viral castratO

Introduced by Colleen Bell, Ambassador of the United States toHungary

A live interview was conducted at the opening by art historian DéliaVékony

Joseph Nechvatal is a post-conceptual artist and art theoretician whoemploys digital means to produce paintings and animations. The

centrality of his oeuvre acknowledges computer generated viruses as acreative stratagem. To address the merging of the biological and virtual,

he coined the term viractual with which he extensively experiments

through his work. In his paintings, the computer virus surfaces as theactive agent which manipulates and corrupts the information stored in

the image (the host) decreasing its integrity. On the other hand, theworkings of these viral entities redefine the structure of the host,

introducing novelties into the image system. Therefore their activity canbe viewed as a constructive, creative process.

viral castratO

viral castratO

viral castratO