Poles have designed the Transformer. The device is designed to help you give up dirty energy

Transformer is an art installation designed by three young scientists associated with the Faculty of Arts at the University of Silesia. The project they are working on concerns an art installation that aims to transfer capital from fossil energy sources to renewable energy.

The principle of the installation may seem complicated. The work takes the form of an economic-ecological universe, within which commercial processes related to the shaping of the raw materials market and its impact on ecology are played out. The installation uses an algorithm that enables trading in capital markets. It can buy and sell financial instruments such as shares and commodity futures, symbolically influencing the shaping of the energy commodity market. The installation’s premise is idealistic, pursuing a vision of saving the world by eliminating ‘dirty’ energy from circulation and replacing it with green, clean, renewable energy.

The machine will be tasked with raising funds from consumers and then reinvesting them in financial instruments from the energy sector. The machine will operate according to an algorithm that aims to transfer capital from the area of fossil fuels to green energy sources. In this process, through a pre-programmed algorithm paired with a brokerage application, the machine will operate on financial instruments such as company shares and commodity contracts. The programmed algorithm will be able to accumulate funds, invest, succeed or fail. Recipients, on the other hand, will be able to support the machine’s mission by making a simple contactless payment.

After analysing Transformer’s processes, however, many questions and controversies arise. Is its mission, its operation, paid for with too many resources? Doesn’t the amount of energy consumed exceed its value? On the other hand, can we afford to be passive in the face of worrying data? Or is an economy on a libertarian model the most beneficial for humanity? In the thicket of information overload, of conflicting ideas, are we able to find a sensible way to fight for the future of the planet? – ask the creators of the installation.

An important part of the installation will be the translation of complex economic processes into a language that is readable to audiences without economic competence. The machine will present the effects of its operations by mapping stock market data (graphs, current balance sheet, sum of transferred capital), but also by visualising the social and ecological processes that are supported by the complex stock market operations (planting trees, cleaning water, improving air quality).

Through a number of data mapping mechanisms and visualisation of the effects of financial transactions, the viewer will be able to observe how capital flows and what effects it has on the environment. All these processes will be reflected through, generated from data from the markets, processes visualised in spatial form. Mechanisms such as multimedia projections, mechanical visualisations, light and audio installations will be used.

A machine inspired by the form of a robot, factory or computer will be created, which will gain its own personality. It will be displayed in a public space or art gallery space, where it will carry out programmed activities for the duration of the exhibition.

Bit Explorers Research Team, is a trio of friends and also artists, passionate about generative art, technological innovation and ecology. They have been working for many years in the area of new media both in the sphere of creative practice and art education.

Team composition:

Jacek Czarkowski – multimedia artist, author of credits and set designs for films, including popular productions such as “Marked” and “Włatcy Móch”. He combines various image and sound processing techniques to create live visuals and interactive projects. As a member of the Polish demoscene, he has won numerous awards, and his innovative approach to multimedia art includes working for major IT companies and collaborating with theatres and cultural institutions.

Dr Wojciech Kukuczka – team leader, specialising in photography, multimedia and film. he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław and also studied at the AKI Academy of Fine Art in the Netherlands. In 2017 he defended his doctorate at the University of Silesia. Currently a research and teaching fellow at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Silesia and President of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Culture and the Arts Great Man, he has participated in more than 70 art exhibitions, including more than 30 solo exhibitions, winning numerous awards for his work in the field of art and film.

Marek Straszak – visual artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (Multimedia) and UdK in Berlin (Art and Media). Lecturer in Animation at Collegium Da Vinci in Poznań. Founder of the Animateria visual studio, RenderBoys. His audiovisual works have been presented at international festivals and his art installations combine analogue and digital techniques, making him one of the innovators in the field of media art.

The project is realised with a grant from the Ministry of Culture and the Katowice City Hall, as part of a research team at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Silesia, with the support of partners.

design: Jacek Czarkowski, Dr Wojciech Kukuczka, Marek Straszak

official website of the project: https://bitexplorers.github.io/transformer

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