Installation, various media, 2015
12 images 
excerpt from video
‘Natural Wifi’ explores the material culture of the Internet to chart the shifted social relationships towards ‘Natural Wifi’ explores the material culture of the Internet to chart the shifted social relationships towards technology, ‘nature’ and between us. Through the lens of Los Angeles’ evolving techno-landscape it looks for nature’s synthetic and symbolic presence within our digital and physical spaces. The artificiality of ‘nature’ and the naturalness of technology are reflected in urban as well as private spaces, in how we relate to others.
The installation brings together various media and objects that show cosmetic or camouflage efforts to hide technological devices in the Californian area: cell tower concealments in the form of fake palm trees, cacti, and conifers, or plastic stones and boulders commonly used to hide various technical and electric equipment. At the same time, the archive documents those signs that explicitly refer to the Internet’s material infrastructure, that is, fibre optic cables, buried underground and designated as “critical infrastructure” by Homeland Security.
We hear excerpts taken from an interview with a TaskRabbit employee, hired to talk about her work and exchange her experiences with the platform, the app, and employers.
With the support of Art Center Los Angeles / MDP.
Team: Nick Meehan, Selwa Sweidan, Erika Katrina Barbosa, Zhihan Ying
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