Image Engine is a multimedia installation by Róza El-Hassan that explores the interplay between text and image within the emerging digital landscape. The work is based on an excerpt from the artist’s private email correspondence with Bulgarian artist Luchezar Boyadjiev. Each word in the letter was individually searched in early internet image databases, with the results saved to form a vibrant collection of images tied to the text. The installation features a simultaneous projection of these images and a sound installation of the spoken text, juxtaposing fragmented visuals with the coherent narrative of the email. This juxtaposition reflects on themes like the fragmentation of information, the creation of archives, and the synaesthetic experience of combining sound and image. As a pioneering work predating the widespread use of image search algorithms (Google’s image search debuted in 2001), Image Engine examines the transformative effect of digital technology on visual information and meaning-making. It draws conceptual connections to avant-garde practices, including Dadaist visual and sound poetry and Surrealist explorations of free association, highlighting how digital environments enable new forms of association and interpretation.
More info: https://www.c3.hu/events/99/image_engine/index.html
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