Our increasingly techno-dystopian reality can be seen as a web of assemblages, shaped over time by an ever-totalising ensemble of forces. Modifications often occur through reconfiguration of relationships between individual elements, but, as long as a difference is absorbed by the structure to reinforce its form, we cannot talk about a real change. True transformation requires more than any form of rearrangement — it demands a disruptive project that adds, subtracts, and reimagines, drawing a bold line of flight departing from the manifold.

"Seven Manifolds" exercises the idea of true change by a disruptive approach towards neural networks. Through a set of experimental network bending techniques, Kotowski performs a live dissection of models trained on his personal recordings, stretching their creative capabilities beyond mere reproduction, weaving a weird, oneiric and uncanny soundscape where the boundaries between the real and synthetic become blurred.

Links

Network Bending: Conducting Operations on the Open Bodies of Neural Nets by Błażej Kotowski

Previous Appearances

• 21.10.24 @ Ars Electronica: Hope, Linz
• 21.09.24 @ AMRO Festival 2024, Linz

Video Documentation

Audio Excerpts