Can the existence of worms help us understand the evolving nature of technology? 

Emerging artists ASH//ELLA invited creatives, students technology enthusiasts and Cognitive Sensations’ audiences to take part in curating their own pop-up Augmented Reality (AR) exhibition. Acting as ‘remote curators’, participants were invited to shape their own exhibition experience in a location of their choosing, from urban public spaces and gardens, to bedrooms across the nation. 

“The physicality of this exhibition is an attempt to combat the passivity that comes with viewing art online. To set it apart from the constant consumption of image that we experience through our screens - and also to break down that barrier that often stands between the artist and the audience, it should just be a conversation.”

A Questionable Companionship is an experiential AR Exhibition observing the life and existence of worms, and their symbiotic relationship with their environment. Through eight immersive and playful videos, these humble creatures became a metaphor into thinking about technology as a living, growing extension of the complex human ecosystem. Using technology developed by artist Paolo Sulpasso, audiences accessed video content through phone interaction with images; literally bringing prompts to life behind their screens. 

The exhibition previewed on the 15th July 2022 at The Royal Standard, commissioned by Cognitive Sensations and curated by Gabriella Warren-Smith. Audience members around the globe participated in this unique opportunity; in person at the launch; virtually from the confines of one’s home; and outdoors in a city or location of their choice. Remote curators took the driving seat in their digital engagement with art,  positioning and consuming the AR prompts in a pathway of their choosing. 

In this constellation of immersive exhibitions, the merging of virtual and physical environments situates this artwork in the very medium it critiques. This is a mutual ground, an interaction between two parts. How can this view of nature, which feeds, mutates and exists through interspecies connection, help us consider our own complex relationship with the technologies of our time?