Esmeralda Conde Ruiz: 24/7

The internationally renowned composer and visual artist Esmeralda Conde Ruiz, 2022 resident artist at the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, presents the results of her artistic research on artificial intelligence as part of the festival “31. Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik” (“Dresden Days of Contemporary Music”) (April 19 to May 7, 2023) at HELLERAU—European Center for the Arts.

Advances in information technology represent some of the most decisive ethical challenges of our time. During Esmeralda Conde Ruiz’s residency at the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, dealing with AI and sound led her to explore the places where personal data is stored, the vast and often hidden server farms, which contain the sonic traces of our digital footprints. Server farms are usually inconspicuous, industrial-looking buildings whose outer shell reveals nothing about their interior. However, their infrastructure is complex and the servers work incessantly. Our data is invisible and not physically tangible, yet at the same time the data centers buzz, hum, and groan around the clock seemingly 24/7.

24/7 is also the title of Conde Ruiz´s new audiovisual installation and accompanying performance, presented as part of the “31. Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik” at HELLERAU. The installation occupies the orchestra pit of HELLERAU and centres around the relationship between humans and technology. 24/7 amplifies and draws attention to the overwhelming volume of data, which is generated daily when we all interact online. Visitors are invited to explore the underground installation and physically experience the strange sounds of server farms combined with recorded human voices. 

On May 7 there will also be a world premiere, featuring operatic singer Arturo den Hartog, and more than 200 singers from the “Bürgerchor at the Kulturpalast Dresden” and members of Conde Ruiz’s own “E Ensemble”. The performance blurs the boundaries between performer and audience and is intended to portray the sound of big data on a human scale. Ethical questions of how knowledge is shared is expressed as a solo performance in an aria sung by counter-tenor den Hartog.

An artwork commissioned by Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, co-produced with HELLERAU. Supported by Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen and British Council Germany.

HELLERAU hours: Monday–Saturday 11am–6pm, Sunday 1–6pm.

About the artist
Esmeralda Conde Ruiz (born 1980 in Spain, lives in London) has directed choirs around the world, including the 500-piece amateur choir that performed at the opening of the Tate Modern extension in London in 2016. Conde Ruiz also composes for performances in concert halls and theatres, has written award-winning film soundtracks and developed a project with Syrian refugee children for the United Nations. She has worked with Yoko Ono, Ólafur Elíasson, Susan Philipsz, Nick Cave, Peter Liversidge and Matthew Herbert, among others. In 2020, Conde Ruiz founded “E Ensemble”, an online ensemble that develops music specifically for performance in digital space, exploring the sonic qualities of technology and voice.

About Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden 
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden—a joint project of TU Dresden (TUD) and THE SCHAUFLER FOUNDATION—is a lively forum for a forward-looking dialogue between science, art, and society. Its´ artist in residence program enables artists to become part of the TUD´s scientific community to jointly conduct research with scholars from various fields.

Credits
Artistic concept, music: Esmeralda Conde Ruiz / Lighting Designer: Marty Langthorne / Sound Designer: Jan Brauer / Producer: Eira Szadurski / Curators: Gwendolin Kremer, TUD; Elisabeth Krefta, HELLERAU.

Performers: Arturo den Hartog, Ben See, Janice Lyayuka, Yasuno Miyauchi, Bürgerchor at the Kulturpalast Dresden (conducted by Gunter Berger, managed by Nadia Kramplova), E Ensemble.

TUD team: Speakers Kirsten Vincenz and Lutz Hagen, Gwendolin Kremer, Lena Ludwig-Hartung, Anke Woschech.

HELLERAU team: Elisabeth Krefta, Moritz Lobeck, Michael Lotz.

Scientific research partners: Orit Halpern, Professor for Digital Cultures and Societal Change, TUD; Miriam Akkermann, Professor for Empirical Musicology, TUD; Ercan Altinsoy, Professor for Acoustics and Haptics, TUD; Fellows of Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden; Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden.

Additional links: Esmeralda Conde Ruiz, Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, THE SCHAUFLER FOUNDATION.

Press contact via e-mail.