Sensing, in its more-than-human, technological, as well as human dimension, is often understood as an element of transmission or connection. It encompasses practices of (ostensibly) making the imperceptible perceivable, of turning formerly opaque processes into data or of ‘accessing’ other subjectivities. But as much as sensitive media are an attempt to bridge difference, they are also responsible for the constitution of otherness. Their intention to connect can also turn into a violent erasure of difference. Our 2021 conference aims to look at the practices, politics and ethics of sensing in relation to alterity. How do entities sense one another? What in- and exclusions are constituted through sensitive media? In which ways can sensing become a violent act of appropriation? But also, what is the subversive opening of ‘other’ sensing practices?

Artists, Panelists, Speakers:
Ally Bishop (Panelist), Christopher Brown (Panelist), Budhaditya Chattopadhyay (Artist), Wendy Hui Kyong Chun (Speaker), Erica Fretwell (Panelist), Elaine Gan (Panelist), Orit Halpern (Panelist), Janna Holmstedt (Artist), Melissa M. Littlefield (Panelist), Deboleena Roy (Panelist), Kyla Schuller (Panelist), Sachi Sekimoto (Panelist), Ashely Shew (Panelist)

Conference Report by Irina Raskin at ZfM Online (February 12, 2022).