Alsino Skowronnek

Wandering aimlessly often leads to the most profound discoveries. As we wander along unfamiliar paths, leaving the beaten track behind, we stumble upon revelations that structured routes rarely offer. This is how we form cognitive maps, internal visualisations that organise and clarify the unknown. Today, as we move into the realm of Artificial Intelligence, we find ourselves tracing a similar route. The enigmatic ‘black box’ systems of AI technology present a modern wilderness, vast in its potential impacts on humanity. This exploration has only just begun, and each step forward reveals new questions and unexplored paths.

‘A Map of Strange Terrain’ uses this rapidly evolving technological landscape as a backdrop and delves into the workings of these advanced systems and their future implications. The exhibition weaves together visual fragments, constructing a cognitive map of this peculiar domain. Alsino Skowronnek's (Duisburg, Germany, 1984) artistic approach, shaped by his background in graffiti and programming, treats AI as an integral tool of the painting process and as a subject. In his painting, he combines traditional fine art techniques with cutting-edge digital technologies, using AI algorithms trained on customised datasets of graffiti tags and ancient scripts, he designs innovative letter formations that form the basis of his compositions.

With a BA in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin, an MA in Economic Geography from the London School of Economics and an MA in Design from the University of Applied Science Potsdam, he was a data analyst and head of data and design for several international firms, as well as a web developer and designer. In his work, he asks how data and information can be used in novel ways to reimagine everyday life. Since 2021, he has presented solo shows at RFDM (Berlin) and the Barcelona centres Espai Souvenir and Manifesto, as well as Piramidón, while his participation in group shows has taken him to spaces such as Urban Spree, Wiensowski & Harbord, Silent Green and gr_und Gallery (Berlin), Glasfabrik (Leipzig), the Cleveland Institute of Art, the HafenCity University Hamburg (Hamburg), Delphi Space (Freiburg), the Fran Reus Gallery in Palma de Mallorca; the Goethe Institut and the aforementioned Piramidón and the Moisés Pérez de Albéniz gallery in Madrid. In 2020, he also participated in the Bombay Beach Biennale in California and, since 2018, he has held residencies in some of the centres mentioned above (the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Bombay Beach Biennale and Piramidón).