Archives at Risk: Debra SolomonArchives at Risk: Debra Solomon

‘Dutch Design’ may be world-renowned, along with Dutch artists being digital culture pioneers, but the archives of these designers are far from secure. In fact, an important part of Dutch design memory is in danger of disappearing. As at the moment, there is no central policy and structural funding in the Netherlands to preserve these archives. And it is precisely the social context provided by archives that offers in-depth interpretation and meaning to the maker's practice and works.

This traveling installation, initiated by the Network Archives Design and Digital Culture (NADD), addresses this urgency. Because, what happens when a discipline no longer has access to its own heritage? The pioneering creators that were experimenting with new possibilities of technology contributed to the rapid development of the technological landscape. With a contradictory effect: many works have become unintentionally inaccessible because software, carriers and operating systems of the past do not match the technological reality of today.

The second presentation in this series showcases the archive of the_living, a work by artist Debra Solomon. With her digital persona called the_living, Solomon invades CU-SeeMe chat boxes, a precursor to video calling software. In this online environment, her virtual performances create the illusion that she is always present in the chat box in real-time. the_living streams from unusual environments such as an ice cave, a swimming pool, or on a boat sailing through Amsterdam's canals - all while interacting online with the audience in CU-SeeMe's virtual environment via her laptop. Her digi-persona chats and connects with members in the chat box, and leaves behind small "digital Tamagotchis".

With this project, Solomon explored the collective online environment that became increasingly common in the late 1990s, and demonstrates the possibilities of online communication. While the_living is not tied to a time or place, it blurs the boundaries of the physical and digital worlds. The year is 1998, but then Solomon already fantasized about being online 24 hours a day.

This born-digital project currently lives on as a memory on the Internet. the_living consists of a series of performances mediated by the computer screen and composed of webpages, image windows, chatlogs, computer code and sound. The origital files of these performances, various "digital Tamagotchis" and the recordings from the chat rooms are now under the management of LI-MA, an organization specializing in the preservation of media art. To make the archive of the_living accessible, it was thoroughly researched, recordings were digitized and parts of the original website have been reconstructed.

Archives at Risk: Seeking Shelter is curated by Annemartine van Kesteren (Curator of Design at Boijmans Van Beuningen) and designed by spatial designer Ben Shamier. The installation will be on display at several of NADD's networkpartners, showcasing different archives that are at risk of dissappearing.