BIFF OFFSCREEN: Science Meets Sentience 2.0

Thursday, October 10 through Thursday, October 17 (Open during Buffalo Arts Studio's regular hours of operation).

Special presentation with the artist on Saturday, October 12 from 10AM–12PM and on Wednesday, October 16 from 3-5PM!

Soft, fleshy and resourceful, the oyster is a magnificent and extremely talented creature of the sea. One tiny 2-inch organism can filter up to 50 gallons of polluted water per day. Its shells form natural reef systems that protect coastlines against rising sea levels and provide habitat for other species to thrive. And legends speak wonders of its euphoric powers as an aphrodisiac.

So imagine if we could bioengineer this magical species to convert toxic water into an even more transformative formula -- and then pumped it into municipal drinking water reservoirs! Could we create a public sentient machine of more perceptible humans? Transform our insatiable consumptive desires into sensorial and energetic pleasures beyond the mere sexual, leading to new forms of sentient interconnections with the cycle of life?

During performance hours, artist Stephanie Rothenberg invites visitors to learn what’s behind the science of sentience 2.0. A special vintage of Aquadisia Water™ created for BIFF will be available to sample.

The performance is part of a larger installation titled Aquadisia currently on view at Buffalo Arts Studio through November 9, 2024. Aquadisia engages science fiction and speculative design to reimagine the myth of the oyster as an aphrodisiac into a new public eco-machine.

About the Artist:

Stephanie Rothenberg is an interdisciplinary artist working in a variety of platforms that engage installation, sculpture, video, and performance. Drawing from ecofeminism and speculative design, her fantastical artworks aim to make visible the underbelly of techno utopias at the intersection of science and economics. Recent projects have focused on the ecological mythmaking of sustainability initiatives, conservation and blue economies.

Her work has been exhibited internationally in venues and festivals including Sundance Film Festival (US), MASS MoCA (US), House of Electronic Arts / HeK (CH), LABoral (ES), Transmediale (DE), and ZKM Center for Art & Media (DE). She is a recipient of numerous awards including a Creative Capital and NYSCA and has participated in residencies such as ZK/U in Berlin, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace/LMCC (US), Santa Fe Art Institute (US) and Eyebeam Art and Technology Center (US) among others. Her work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art and has received reviews from international publications such as Artforum, Artnet, The Brooklyn Rail and Hyperallergic. She is Professor and Chair in the Department of Art at University at Buffalo, SUNY where she teaches classes in design and emerging technologies and co-directs an interdisciplinary design studio collaborating with local social justice organizations.

The learn more, please visit stephanierothenberg.com/.

Presented in partnership with Buffalo Arts Studio.

Images from current exhibition Aquadisia at Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY courtesy of the artist.