execution

Execution, the first solo show from artist, programmer and writer Martin Howse, explores the hidden side of technology; the impact of electromagnetic emissions and codes on an already damaged nature. A selection of recent works probe the subtle interplay between software, matter and bodies.

The psychogeophysics walker, a distinct and cumbersome apparatus, modelled on an elderly or disabled person's wheeled walker, attempts rather to extend human perception into the domain of radio signals and geomagnetic variation. Heralding a new practice of psychogeophysics, extending psychogeography with the study of earth energies, the walker equips the contemporary flaneur with a host of measurement and recording devices. A series of maps, constructed using the walker and custom software, provide a window on imaginary landscapes of local intensities.

In pain registers, the artist quite literally examines the impact of code on the human. Every single instruction performed by the computer's processor during the operation of a common web browser is translated into the movement of a needle piercing the skin and flesh. Several prototypes are on display (for health and safety reasons participation is discouraged) alongside images of the artist's hands after extensive impacting. Another new work directly translates surrounding electromagnetic waves within the gallery space into the movement of a hammer drill hitting the floor of the space. Accompanying photographs bear witness to the recoding of various film genre narratives into stories of skin sweat and body heat.

A fungal videothek will open for business throughout the show, encouraging visitors to spread the spores of various cultured fungi through their home media systems. Infested videos (VHS), CD-ROMs and DVDs are available for free loan and playback on site.