Are we there yet? | bobbicknell-knight

Are we there yet?, 2017

A solo show at 16 John Islip St, London.

Responding to the hyper connected present whilst considering the autonomous advances of the future, Are we there yet? brings together a variety of works from Bicknell-Knight that explore the increasing surveillance and corporatisation of our society, the virtual worlds that we escape to and the capitalist utopias that we currently inhabit. One wall features a print on aluminium, Simple Human I, taken from a series of digital collages that utilise imagery from various locations in video games and films where automation and the internet of things has led to negative social, economic and political outcomes. Attached to the print is an Amazon Dash Button, a present-day device that allows users to re-order various items with the press of a button; a soon to be obsolete gadget that will be ultimately replaced by a more streamlined universal product in the future.

Two custom made bean bags titled Player Companions and Future Snatching facilitate the viewing of Zo, a video that depicts a conversation between the artist and an internet bot, a software application installed on the social media app Kik that’s programmed to replicate autonomous conversation. The dialogue that occurs is foregrounded in front of various melancholy habitats from the Mass Effect video game series. Within the film the entity and the individual discuss artificial intelligence and the difference between being a robot and a human being whilst A Mountain Walk is an immersive virtual reality experience that involves an extensive hike to the peak of Mount Chilliad, the tallest mountain within the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Are we there yet? Installation view, 2017