PROJECTS
Will Wharton / Digital Organisms and Relics
Tue, Feb 22
|Xposed on the Highline
A surreal collection of digital organisms and relics that explore the bygone tradition of cabinets of curiosities.
Time & Location
Feb 22, 2022, 4:30 PM EST – Mar 01, 2022, 7:00 PM EST
Xposed on the Highline, Highline Park @ 19th street
About The Event
About the works:
Recently, Wharton has been exploring collector culture and the traditions of Wunderkammer or “Cabinets of Curiosities”. These collections sometimes contained strange and mysterious artifacts in addition to natural, historical and religious relics. Dating back to the 1500s, these spaces created a microcosm of the world we live in. This tradition has problematic roots in imperialism and was often used to showcase status or worldly prestige. However, they represent a time in which we didn’t so harshly differentiate between art and science. There is a monolithic power to them and, in fact, they were precursors to modern day museums.
There is a clear connection between this old tradition and modern-day NFT collections. This series explores that relationship, imagining what types of artifacts, old film reels and organisms might be stored in these metaverse cabinets of curiosities. These digital organisms attempt to emulate how special conditions, like the creation…