Information Designer Auke Touwslager Exhibits at Global Privacy Summit

Tue, Apr 30 - Wed, May 1  2019

Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Washington Embassy Region

As part of the Artist-in-Residency programme of the Global Privacy Summit 2019, Informationlab (founded by Auke Touwslager (NL) and Ursula Lavrencic (SLO) ) has been asked to exhibit our Cell Phone Disco and give a presentation about it on stage.

Organized by The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the summit gathers more than 4000 professionals from around the world for an outstanding program with a truly global focus. The IAPP had chosen Informationlab’s work because of the visualisation of (private) conversations that are normally invisible.

About the Art Work

Cell Phone Disco by is a surface that visualizes the electromagnetic field of an active mobile phone. Several thousand lights illuminate when you make or receive a phone call in the vicinity of the installation. Cell Phone Disco makes an invisible property of the environment perceptible to our senses. It reveals the communicating body of the mobile phone. Information designer Auke Touwslager (NL) and Architect Ursula Lavrenčič (SLO) created an installation which transforms a part of the electromagnetic spectrum into another frequency range—the range of visible light. Their fascination lies with the transmission quality of the mobile phone; its presence beyond the shell of the device. Engineering by Aleš Vrhovec and Janez Jazbar.

About the artists

Informationlab is a tag that identifies the collaborative efforts of an international group operating at the shifting intersection of Art, Science, Technology & Design. Since 2004 Informationlab founders Auke Touwslager (NL) and Ursula Lavrencic (SLO) seen their efforts being adopted and appreciated by different fields and audiences. As a result their work found its way to an international art community and to science museums and galleries around the world. In 2011 their commissioned work for the Cultural Trust was nationally recognized to the best in Public Art Projects of 2011 by the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (PAN). Most of the group collaboration is based on curiosity driven research which subsequently lead to a variety of (art)installations, publications, workshops and lectures. After previous US commissions (Such as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, The Hill Country Science Mill, Johnson City, Texas and the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia) we’re thrilled to be able to exhibit our Cell Phone Disco in Washington DC.