Category: Spatial Installation

In Entity Dreams Body, the boundaries between life and simulation are explored: A breathing skin balloon rises and falls, next to it a child’s toy whose lifelike eyes return the gaze. Human fragments, technology, and toys merge into a hybrid being – familiar and eerie at the same time.

The work negotiates the boundaries between humans and machines, between what is technically feasible and what is ethically acceptable. Prostheses and enhancements do not appear as progress, but as unsettling transformations that alienate humanity. Instead of envisioning harmonious coexistence, the installation reveals the ambivalence and unease of a possible future: Where does the synthetic begin to transform the human? And how can a balance between humanity and alienation still be conceived in a world of permanent enhancement?

This idea is embodied in ten Polaroids showing a toy – strikingly similar to the hybrid creature – in the hands of a child. The photographs are based on documentary material and bear the traces of a real past.

From another corner of the room, a voice hallucinates about “posthumanism.” A tower of pedestals rises, crowned by a small CRT television that functions as a “head”. The screen displays the digitally reconstructed head of a child, generated from real archive material. The voice and text come from artificial intelligence.

The work combines memory and technological simulation and condenses questions about identity, reproduction, and the role of humans in the posthuman age.

Music: Rasmus Kassnel-Henneberg

Time-based media art Concept Portfolio Erika Kassnel-Henneberg (born 1973) is a conceptual and media artist with German-Romanian roots whose artistic work deals intensively and profoundly with the complex tensions between humans, technology, and society. In a world increasingly shaped by technological developments and artificial systems, her work poses the central question of a new humanism—a humanism that not only preserves the human in the midst of digital transformations, but also redefines and rethinks it. Entity Body Simulation Boundaries. Her works primarily reflect the profound change in our perception, identity, and memory, which must be continuously renegotiated in an increasingly digitalized reality. At the heart of Kassnel-Henneberg’s artistic practice is a critical examination of the far-reaching effects of digitalization on human self-perception and social structures. Her works question the extent to which humans still exist as independent, autonomous subjects when artificial intelligence, algorithms, and digital systems increasingly influence, control, and in some cases even supplant areas of life. This thematic basis creates a profound discourse on the relationship between biological existence and technological expansion, which manifests itself in her art in diverse and differentiated ways. Kassnel-Henneberg understands her artistic practice as a connecting bridge between analog and digital worlds. She uses a broad and diverse range of media and techniques to make aesthetic and conceptual interconnections visible and tangible. She employs video, CGI (computer-generated imagery), artificial intelligence, Polaroid photography, collage, and mixed media approaches. Through this deliberate combination, she creates works that move between reality and simulation, between documentation and construction, inviting the audience to critically question their own perception of the present, which is often shaped by digital media. Kassnel-Henneberg’s cross-media approach allows her to present social and cultural developments in a multi-layered, complex context. Entity Body Simulation Boundaries. The use of digital technologies such as CGI and artificial intelligence not only serves the purpose of visual design, but also functions as a critical tool for examining the mechanisms and far-reaching effects of these technologies on our everyday lives and perceptions. At the same time, the conscious use of analog techniques such as Polaroid or collage refers to a return to the haptic, material aspects of the artwork, thus opening up an exciting, intermedial dialogue between old and new, analog and digital. Her artistic career is characterized by a sound and interdisciplinary academic education. Erika Kassnel-Henneberg first studied restoration at the renowned University of the Arts in Bern, Switzerland. There, she not only acquired craftsmanship skills and a deep technical understanding of the conservation of cultural artifacts, but also developed a keen awareness of the historical and social significance of art and cultural heritage. She then went on to study interactive media at the Technical University of Augsburg in Germany, where she deepened and expanded her skills in the field of digital technologies and media art. This interdisciplinary education forms the basis for her innovative artistic practice, which blends traditional and modern techniques to create new forms of visual and content-based communication. Kassnel-Henneberg’s artistic works have already received wide and lasting recognition and have been presented in numerous national and international exhibitions and media art festivals. Particularly noteworthy is her solo exhibition “Uncanny Valley” at the Neue Galerie in the Höhmannhaus of the Municipal Art Collections and Museums of Augsburg. This exhibition impressively addressed the oppressive feeling of unease that arises when artificial systems become increasingly similar to humans in appearance or behavior. It showed in a fascinating way how art can reflect social fears and hopes regarding technology and humanity and stimulate discourse. In addition, their work has been shown several times at the renowned FILE – Electronic Language International Festival in São Paulo, Brazil. This festival is one of the world’s leading platforms for digital art and electronic media, underscoring the international significance and relevance of Kassnel-Henneberg’s artistic work. Her presentations there confirmed her role as an important voice in the contemporary media art scene, addressing the pressing issues of our time. In 2013, Erika Kassnel-Henneberg was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Krumbach for her book object “Heimat ist anderswo” (Home is Elsewhere). This analog work in the form of an edited historical photo album takes an in-depth look at questions of identity, belonging, and place. It thus reflects on fundamental social issues that are becoming increasingly important in the face of global mobility and digital networking. In 2022, she also received the Art Prize of the District of Augsburg for her entire oeuvre—a significant honor that recognizes her long-standing artistic commitment and her outstanding contributions to contemporary art and media culture. In addition to her artistic activities, Kassnel-Henneberg is also heavily involved in academia. She is a lecturer at the Technical University of Augsburg, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the Free Academy of Art in Augsburg. In these roles, she not only imparts in-depth artistic knowledge, but also promotes critical and reflective dialogue among students about media, society, and technology. Her educational work thus complements her artistic practice and contributes significantly to the sustainable development and promotion of media art in Germany. In addition, she is active in various jury committees, where she contributes her extensive expertise and many years of experience to support innovative and forward-looking positions in the contemporary art scene. Her commitment also extends to the promotion of media culture, where she accompanies and advises both established and emerging artists and provides impetus for the further development of artistic discourse. Her work as a juror and mentor demonstrates her deep interest in promoting and strengthening cultural diversity and artistic innovation in the field of new media. Overall, Erika Kassnel-Henneberg’s artistic work is characterized by a consistent, reflective, and multi-layered examination of the complex challenges and questions of our time. Overall, Erika Kassnel-Henneberg’s artistic work is characterized by a consistent, reflective, and multi-layered examination of the complex challenges and issues of our time. Her work invites us to reflect on the limits of humanity in an increasingly digital and networked world and opens up new perspectives on identity, memory, and social processes. By combining traditional and modern media, she creates an innovative, dynamic space in which artistic, technological, and social issues are creatively interwoven—a central concern for art in the 21st century, which increasingly sees itself as a critical medium for addressing digitalization. With her work, Erika Kassnel-Henneberg makes a significant contribution to the current debate on the role of humans and technology, the preservation of humanism, and artistic reflection on social upheaval. Her artistic vision opens up new horizons and shows ways in which art can offer orientation, raise questions, and accompany change in a complex world. With her interdisciplinary and cross-media practice, she exemplifies a contemporary art that is not only aesthetically impressive but, above all, socially relevant. Entity Body Simulation Boundaries

This video shows a corridor-like room without doors or windows. Like a precise clockwork mechanism, a pendulum with a light bulb swings back and forth, alternately illuminating the opposite walls, which are covered with fragments of memory. Floral wallpaper from the parents’ bedroom, a devotional image, a stuffed deer head – relics that at first appear personal and familiar. With each swing of the pendulum, however, the intimacy of the scene tips into a claustrophobic experience and opens up the space for a universal question about repetition and relapse. The room becomes an archive in which biographical and historical elements overlap indistinguishably.

We are part of this time loop, which acts as a mirror of the present. Power struggles, authoritarian shifts, and the resurgence of old ideologies do not appear as new phenomena, but as variations on a familiar pattern. The present seems like an echo of past conflicts, amplified by constant media presence and algorithmic sorting.

What begins as a private memory expands into a question of time and duration: the relationship between forgetting and eternity in a world that stores everything and simultaneously represses it. An AI designs mathematical models for this. Eternity appears as an infinite iteration without a termination condition, forgetting as a limit value that approaches zero without ever reaching it. Neither formula describes a solution, but rather a state of permanent repetition.

This logic continues in the transition to the physical installation. Objects from the video reappear in real space, dissolving the boundary between virtual and physical space. A devotional image of the Christ Child feeding doves and ceramic animal skulls reflect the motifs shown. Individual objects reappear on Polaroids on the wall, including the stuffed deer head. Through this repeated translation between media, things circulate between reality, image, and meaning. Documentation, staging, and ideology become indistinguishable. The space appears both real and constructed – as a symbol of a present in which historical relics, political narratives, and media repetitions create an experience of permanent recurrence.

Probability of ‘forgetting’ (AI-generated)