0x2ė
Irfan Brkovic's MFA Performance
September 5 & 6, 2024 | 6:30 PM & 8:30 PM nightly
Studio T – 149 W. Hasting St., Vancouver
In collaboration with Czarina Agustines, Carlo Marchet, Sara van Gaalen, Charlotte Samuel, Adam Smith, Colleen Bayati, Ricardo Gutierrez, and Maddy Woodley.
0x2e is a performance about factory workers diligently deciphering the codes under the watchful eye of a machine-driven system. The efficiency and precision of their work directly influence the production's success, with each task completed reflecting their ability to navigate the demands of the environment. The workers are faced with critical decisions—whether to adhere strictly to the machine's instructions or to push back. The balance between submission and resistance shapes the outcome, leading to an inevitable clash with the system that governs their existence. The author decided to turn his studio practice into a fun game saying: "We have a specific thing we're doing, and we are just doing it over and over again."
Inspired by the self-managed factories of former Yugoslavia, where Irfan's family once worked, the project 0x2e explores the intersection of technology and labor through the medium of laserography. The focus is on preserving light in visual scores on photo-sensitive surfaces. This technique utilizes sound-modulated laser light to create images, involving direct human participation in a darkroom process where randomness and imperfections play crucial aesthetic roles.
Warnings: Haze, stroke, BRIGHT lights (laser), and occasional moments of loudness.
Biography
Irfan Brkovich (born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is an artist who works across performance, installation, and light. His work explores the post-industrial era and abandoned military complexes of former Yugoslavia. He has presented internationally in galleries, theatre, and music festivals. After a decade working between Europe and the USA, he moved to Canada to pursue his Master's studies and serve as a Researcher at the Precursor Lab within the SFU School of Contemporary Arts in Vancouver. Brkovic is also a video artist at The Wooster Group and a founding member of Phase Space NYC, a collective dedicated to exploring media, performance, creative coding, and interdisciplinary art practices.