Fractured Waters


Hosted through Artcite Inc. & INCUBATOR Art Lab
Written by: Ashley Hemmings

INCUBATOR Art Lab was pleased to partner with Artcite Inc this past weekend to present Fractured Waters, an artist talk and discussion featuring Colton Hash and Michael Lucenkiw.

Colton Hash is a current MFA student at the University of Victoria whose work uses data sets and media technologies to represent our relationships to the natural world. Michael Lucenkiw is a recent University of Windsor graduate, and former INCUBATOR team member, whose work uses DiY technologies to advocate for the environment and to question traditional Western scientific methods. Both artists have backgrounds in environmental science and use an interdisciplinary approach to making scientific data more accessible and emotional through their artworks. During the event both artists presented on their work, focusing on projects about water and their relationships to it. Hash gave a preview of his work titled Fractured Waves that will be virtually displayed at Artcite Inc later this year, and spoke about creating interactive data artworks that can act as educational tools.

 
 
 
 

Lucenkiw spoke about his work Pollution Piano, a functional synthesizer directly connected to water samples from the Detroit River that plays varying tones depending on the conductivity of the water, turning the abstract idea of water conductivity into something tangible that a viewer can interact with.

 
 
 
 

Both artists spoke about other projects as well, touching on topics of wildfires, sound pollution, ecological grief, and citizen science. After the presentations the artists took questions from the audience, and as a group we considered ways to make data sets emotional, inherent biases in data collection, and the benefits of interdisciplinary practices.

For more information on the artists visit their respective websites:
Colton Hash
Michael Lucenkiw

Visit Artcite Inc. to learn more about thier past and upcoming events!
Artcite Inc.

Image Credit:
1-2) Ashley Hemmings, Screenshot of the Fractured Waters Artist Talk, Artcite Inc. & INCUBATOR Art Lab 2021.