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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2020 4 THIS WEEK ART TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Malta-based artist and curator Letta Shtohryn about 'WhatDoWeDoNow?', an online contemporary visual arts exhibition forming part of The Wrong Biennale platform, and whose online- only presence in some ways anticipated our participation at cultural events during COVID-wracked times Hunting for ghosts in the algorithms Tell us a little bit about your back- ground and artistic practice. What would you say have been some of the most important steps of your career so far? In my work, I use new media, sculp- ture, video games, archival materials, commercial goods and imagery. Being ceaselessly inspired by deception, I look for the origins of the real and the artifi- cial, exploring the fine line between truth and myth-making. My practice focuses on our intertwined coexistence with the digital realm looking for a place for hu- mans in a world that increasingly relies on automation. Often, my research-based practice combines the historical and the contemporary, looking for the interre- lation between current technology and early (pre)industrial practices. My work is always gender-conscious: it explores gender constructs and gender representa- tion, as part of my identity is being a full- time woman. So far I think one of the most impor- tant steps in my career was showing my work, 'Algorithmic Oracle', in New York at Frieze art fair 2019 as part of a group "playlist", and in Miami as a solo show, which was arranged by London based Daata.Art – a digital platform that com- missions and sells video works. This exposed my work with video games to a wider audience and facilitated a num- ber of collaborations. One of these was an invitation to participate in the Milan Machinima Festival, as part of Milan Dig- ital Week that was moved online due to COVID and took place between May 25 and 30. Another important step was creating the WhatDoWeDoNow? platform and curating the online and offline pavilion as part of the Wrong Biennale 2019-2020. Through this I have experienced the cu- ratorial side of art-making, where I was completing a vision for the exhibition with the works of other artists. I felt I wanted to tell a broader story on the state of things in the interaction between the digital realm and the physical realm today and discover how other artists feel about these coexistences. Another important element in the growth of my practice are the grants that I have been fortunate to have been awarded since 2016, such as from Arts Council Malta, which have re- ally boosted my practice and fuelled ener- gy into my projects. What attracted you most about 'The Wrong Biennale', and why did you think your approach was relevant when it came to curating their online show in 2019? The Wrong Biennale works as a mul- tidimensional network of pavilions and embassies. Anyone who has an idea to curate a "pavilion" makes the Wrong their own, creating a unique exhibition whether online, offline, or on a wifi router placed in public space, which people can connect to and view works on their devic- es. As I had created WhatDoWeDoNow? in summer 2019, I felt that signing up to curate all three options would be a way to extend the platform to four realms (by adding a VR environment) and to tell the story over these different modes of artis- tic experience. The WDWDN Malta pavilion showed works by 26 artists and spanned across four "environments". The pavilion opened with an online exhibition that was extended beyond the biennale's No- vember 2019 – March 2020 period, until June 1, 2020. After June 1 the exhibition of 26 works was archived on the What- dowedonow.xyz website. Most digital artists don't believe in the idea that scar- city means value, but rather in the idea of sharing as much as possible, which means that the same works were able to be shown in both physical and digital spaces. The offline exhibition took place in December 2019 in Casino Notabile, Rabat. During the exhibition some works could be experienced in virtual reality, enabling an intimate encounter with the works while wearing a headset. The final element of the exhibition were the WiFi routers. They enabled the works to be ex- perienced 24/7 by anyone with a mobile device within the proximity of the pavil- ion by accessing the WiFi network of the pavilion. The freedom of creating the show in multiple realms attracted me the most to the Wrong, but it was also an opportu- nity to share WhatDoWeDoNow?'s show with an even wider audience through me- dia art networks and by adding Malta to one of the 160 locations globally on the Wrong network during the biennale. How would you describe the selection of artists forming part of the show? What are some confluences and dis- sonances that characterise the way in which they responded to the exhibition brief? The selected artists were telling a Unified story tackling various aspects but finding responding to the same concerns. The WhatDoWeDoNow? pavilion "There are so many tools out there to work with as an artist, it's a shame to limit oneself with a piece of purely analogue equipment, out of protest or insecurity" Letta Shtohryn