Fernando Obieta (he/him, *1990) is a conceptual media artist and artistic researcher. After studying Computer Science with a focus on media technologies, he studied Interaction Design and Transdisciplinarity in the Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts. His artistic work and research focus on the critique and reflection of (digital) media, artefacts, systems, services, and solutions and how they are contingent and situated. He works at the intersection of concept, design, art, and technology, focussing on three methods: Finding errors or gaps in a system and making them specifically visible; shifting and reassembling certain parameters of a system; translating a system into other medialities. He is currently doing his PhD in media theory at the University of Arts Linz funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation’s (SNSF) Doc.CH program and is being hosted at the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art. The dissertation “The Contingency of Design – a critique” is supervised by Prof. Dr. Gloria-Stella Meynen (Linz) and Prof. Dr. Rachel Mader (Lucerne). He is investigating how a feminist ethics and morality of machines and their production could be constituted. To this end, he is working on a series of posits under the title “machines congregating”, in which he examines how different machines perceive people and how people observe others (or themselves) through machines.
Lecturer at the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art. Board member of intersections – for digitality, diversity and inclusivity. Founder and former president of VoteLog – contextualise the representative part of Swiss democracy. Initiator and collective member of the now-defunct so-da.space offsite space in Zürich for cultural actors and artists.
Doctor of Philosophy in Media Theory (ongoing)
Master of Arts ZHdK in Transdisciplinary Studies in the Arts
Bachelor of Arts ZHdK in Design with a Specialisation in Interaction Design
Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Computer Science with a Specialisation in Media Technology
Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training as Bookseller
shout@fernando-obieta.com
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currently / upcoming
2024 – Book chapter “Transdisciplinarity through the arts” together with Dr. Nina Boogen (ZHAW) for the book “Transdisciplinary Thinking and Acting – Fundamentals and Perspectives” in the series “Transdisciplinary Management of Social and Ecological Crises” edited by Prof. em. Dr. Mathias Schüz
grants
2024–2027 – SNF Doc.CH
2021–2022 – ZHdK Z-Kubator “What’s next_studio”
2021–2022 – OpenData.ch Prototype Fund
solo exhibitions
2023–2024 – forever – Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Rapperswil
2023 – SUGGESTING, – so-da.space, Zürich
2022 – SUGGESTING, – IG Halle, Rapperswil
2022 – SUGGESTING, – Page Blanche, Coucou, N° 103
2021 – LETTERS – Material, Zürich
2019 – blinded by the light – in the public space of the city of Bülach
2017 – for your eyes only – Kaskadenhalle, Toni-Areal, Zürich
selected group exhibitions
2024 – i dropped the metal ball on the glass table and it broke. what is it? – HackThePromise Festival, Basel
2023 – SUGGESTING, – on public posters in Winterthur – by Kunstkasten
2022 – SUGGESTING, – WHAT’S COOKING? (on resources) at Villa Sträuli, Winterthur
2021 – LETTERS – Jungkunst, Winterthur
2021 – LETTERS to bias and Formalisations – Distributed Transactions at Löwenbräu, Zürich
2021 – to face – Streitfestival Luzern
2020 – public protected private – Kulturstadtlabor, Winterthur
2020 – biased – online exhibition, ZHdK
2019 – Observation Failure Filter – Design for Sustainable Development at ETH, Zürich
2019 – Circular Instant – Kunsthalle, Luzern
2019 – Observation Failure Filter – Refresh #2 ZHdK, Toni-Areal, Zürich
2019 – Observation Failure Filter – Design Biennale, Zürich
2019 – Observation Failure Filter – ZHdK, Toni-Areal, Zürich
2019 – CTRL – Kunstpause, Zug
2018 – blinded by the light – Illuminate Festival, Zug
2018 – Raum der Konfrontation – ZHdK, Toni-Areal, Zürich
2018 – for your eyes only – Junge Kunst, Olten
2017 – Vorlesen! – Lichtcampus, Hildesheim
2016 – Holles Welt – Zauberwald, Lenzerheide
selected performances
2023 – trifurcate – undisclosed location
2022 – trifurcate – Kraftfeld, Winterthur
2019 – trifurcate – Lange Nacht der zeitgenössischen Musik, Toni-Areal, Zürich
2019 – trifurcate – Kiosk Treff Töss, Winterthur
2018 – WAVE – Leere Kirche, Bülach
2018 – HEAR – Toni-Areal, Zürich
2017 – HERE – Toni-Areal, Zürich
selected talks
2024 – “Do we have a problem with our problem-solving mechanisms?” – Prompting the Future – HSLU DFK, Luzern
2024 – PhD colloquium of the University of the Arts Linz
2023 – “Do we have a problem with our problem-solving mechanisms?” – HackThePromise Festival, Basel
2022 – VoteLog – online, Prototype Fund
2021 – Reden wir vom Geld? – panel discussion at Rathaus für Kultur, Lichtensteig
2020 – the formalisers – essay, ZHdK
2020 – What the Digital?! Ein Gespräch mit Fernando Obieta und Felix Stalder über Formalisierungen – podcast, ZHdK
2019 – “verloren im www” – Kunsthalle, Luzern