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Yuri Pattison

Through multimedia installations, Yuri Pattison (1986, Dublin) subverts the tech industry’s mechanisms to highlight its economic, societal and affective impact on human lives. Pattison’s video the ideal (v/0.3.2) (2015–21) features footage from a Bitcoin mine run by Beijing-based start-up HaoBTC on the edge of the range of the Himalayas near Kongyuxiang, Sichuan, China. Filmed by Eric Mu (former chief marketing officer at HaoBTC), the video contrasts scenes of warehouses full of Bitcoin mining rigs and the neighbouring hydroelectric dam with views of the surrounding area. Although Bitcoin is a digital currency, the mining process itself – in which powerful processors solve complex mathematical problems – is incredibly energy intensive. This has led companies such as HaoBTC to move their operations to places where hydroelectric power is cheap and plentiful. Pattison’s work considers the human and ecological implications of producing this digital currency. The video plays alongside a Bitcoin mining rig with a water-based cooling system, referencing both hydroelectric power generation and the fluid circulation of digital currency. Both are housed within industrial racking that resembles the shelving used in the Kongyuxiang mine. Pattison’s title refers (ironically) to ‘Ideal Money’, a theoretical notion conceived by the mathematician Josh Nash (1928–2015) to stabilise international currencies.

Artworks

  1. Yuri Pattison, "the ideal (v/0.3.2)", 2015–2021. Vidéo couleur, son. Rayonnage, moniteur, lecteur multimédia, BITMAIN Antminer Cl, unité de refroidissement par eau pour PC, réservoir (Mountain Storm/RW Keeton), pierres de la rivière Dadu, miniatures à l'échelle 1/12, cadenas BROCKHAGE®, autocollant, câbles, cartons d’emballage, eau purifiée, poussière. 30 min 2 sec. Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2022. Vue de l’exposition "Post-Capital : Art et économie à l'ère du digital", Mudam Luxembourg, 02.102021 – 16.01.2022 © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg
    Yuri Pattison the ideal (v/0.3.2), 2015–2021

    Vidéo couleur, son
    Rayonnage, moniteur, lecteur multimédia, BITMAIN Antminer Cl, unité de refroidissement par eau pour PC, réservoir (Mountain Storm/RW Keeton), pierres de la rivière Dadu, miniatures à l'échelle 1/12, cadenas BROCKHAGE®, autocollant, câbles, cartons d’emballage, eau purifiée, poussière
    30 min 2 sec
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2022
    Vue de l’exposition Post-Capital : Art et économie à l'ère du digital, Mudam Luxembourg, 02.10.2021-16.01.2022
    © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

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