One of our most common gestures is that of plugging in or out. What do we mean by an “unplugged” situation? Besides the fact that day by day we switch on and off technical apparatuses, can we speak about being unplugged in instances when instead of an ordinary state we are confronted with a situation of transcendence? The question can be extended. Are piknolepsis, levitations and other transcendental states “plugged” or “unplugged”? When we switch something off we apparently interrupt an activity for a given period of time. But does “unplugging” mean the end or the beginning of an activity? Is there a passive state between two active ones, or being “unplugged” can also be active? The exhibition UNPLUGGED is trying to find answers to such questions in the context and with the specific means of media-art. – József Bartha
The adjective “unplugged” refers first of all to a situation that gets us out of the rut. It is a kind of “alarm-clock” which awakens our thinking and perception and urges us to relate to our everyday reality from different standpoints. “Unpluggedness” may refer to the standstill of the technical apparatuses as well as to the interval between two operations. Its interpretation may be symbolical, thus it can mean the uncommon use of the technical instruments or the transfer of their characteristics to other media. Or it can just be meditation about our coexistence with the technical apparatuses. – Judit Angel