Conversation with Julia Weist and Christina Battle followed by a discussion with Clara Halpern
Tuesday, December 15, 2020 @ 6pm EST

It is clear in our day-to-day life that things flow back and forth from online to physical space, but we often think of these spaces in isolation in art: the art gallery, the publication, and the web. Artists Christina Battle and Julia Weist shared a hybridized process of art-making—creating individual artworks that are experienced both online and offline, moving fluidly between these spaces.

Speaker bios:
Edmonton-based artist Christina Battle has a background in environmental biology and film studies and is currently working on a number of projects taking place online, which will later seep out into the physical world, including taking up online systems and networks around plant-based ones.

Julia Weist is a New York based artist who explores how the process of record keeping reveals crucial social truths around shared systems of knowledge and power. Drawing heavily on archival material and artifacts, Weist sites her work both inside art world contexts, such as galleries and museums, as well as other shared “commons” like public libraries, government websites, advertising platforms, and digital spaces.

This session was in partnership with Rhizome.

…this is not made of language but energy was a speculative exploration of our present and future through topics including toolmaking, modes of circulation, frameworks, and more broadly, our digital lives. The series was curated by Clara Halpern, AGYU Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Jenifer Papararo, AGYU Director/Curator, and Orit Gat. The series title, “this is not made of language but energy,” is a quote from “Dream 2,” a poem by Eileen Myles. We would like to offer thanks to the artists, writers, and curators who contribute to this program, which was deeply informed by their work. We would also like to thank our partners InterAccess, Toronto, and Rhizome, New York City, for supporting the presentation of sessions in this program. Graphic design by Marta Ryczko.