Page 35 - Fundação MEO - Net Arte no Triângulo das Bermudas

explore the printed poster for Go to Frisco and a copy of Flirt
magazine featuring an article on the original exhibition. The Rádio
Bandolim project by the collective Pizz Buin underwent a partial
disappearance. During the exhibition’s preparation, the collective
shared that, following the conclusion of their radio broadcasts and
during the archiving process, one of the episodes was lost. The
version of the project presented in this exhibition included a listening
station for the five remaining episodes of the programme, alongside
the playlists for all six original episodes, photographs taken by the
collective during the recording period, their manifesto, and a copy of
the 15th Cerveira Biennial exhibition catalogue – the context in which
this artistic project first took shape.
It is becoming increasingly common for digital art projects to
undergo changes over time, spawn new versions, or even disappear
entirely due to the challenges of archiving them, as well as conflicts
among companies within the so-called Big Tech industry. For
instance, when Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005, it initiated the
slow demise of certain software programs and the disappearance of
a portion of Internet history, as modern browsers no longer support
Macromedia’s formats. The loss of programs such as Macromedia
Director, alongside the rapid transformation of technology, has made
it difficult to read old code and maintain certain systems operational.
The projects by Beatriz Albuquerque and Luísa Ribas & João Cruz
were created within a Macromedia environment, rendering them
incompatible with today’s Internet. Their presentation in the exhibi-
tion was not limited to simply displaying them on computing devices;
additional elements were included to contextualise their origins and to
provide a deeper understanding of the unstable nature of the medium
in which they were developed.
Regarding the projects Amusing Ourselves to Death
(AO2D) (2002) by Luísa Ribas & João Cruz and Olhos (2003)
by Beatriz Albuquerque, the former was created using the now-de-
funct Macromedia Director, while the latter was developed in Flash
(ActionScript 1.0), which were later acquired by Adobe. We installed
both on computers where specific applications still allow access to
SWF (Shockwave Flash) files. The project by Luísa Ribas & João Cruz
required an emulation process to be reactivated, which is described
later. Beatriz Albuquerque offered two possible ways of presenting
her work: one, a video recording by the artist capturing her interaction
with the interface; and the other, the original interactive version, as
she still possesses her SWF files. It was this latter version that was
prioritised for the exhibition. Beyond the interactive interface installed
on a computer, two artist books by Beatriz Albuquerque were also

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Sofia Ponte
Sofia Ponte