Welcome: Martin Schumacher, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Oldenburg

As part of the “Systemstörung” exhibition, the event “Wie ich lernte den Virus zu lieben” (How I learned to love the virus) will take place at the Edith Russ House for Media Art on October 20 at 7 pm. Virus experts Luca Bertini and Jaromil have been invited to talk about how and why they learned to appreciate computer viruses.

Hardly anyone knows how a virus works or can assess its actual danger. Luca Bertini from the artists’ initiative vi-con knows just how much poetry and aesthetics can be contained in a virus. Bertini has developed two love viruses that search for each other on the Internet without damaging computers or files. They live for a while in less stable folders and leave a small sign of their presence. If they do not find each other, they retreat and try their luck again on another computer.

Jaromil: “A virus author is interested in investigating the permeability of the net. A network of such dimensions as the Internet possesses cannot be reflected in any typography. … If we were to inject a contrast agent into the organism in order to be able to trace the nature and structure of the Internet, the result would be the typical course of blood vessels. Let us now make an effort and look at the origins of the spirit of research as we can visualize it in our history, in the history of the known, organic world.”

“Michelangelo” or “I love You” caused panic on the World Wide Web and the press reported worldwide disruptions and devastating losses. Virus programmers and virus hunters are an integral part of a system in which virus programming has become a criminal act and the lucrative business with virus scanners is legitimized as the last resort before the total virus breakdown. With this event, the Edith Russ House for Media Art gives everyone the chance to look at this phenomenon from a different perspective and to find the aesthetics in what they fear.

In cooperation with the Oldenburg Office for Economic Development