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04.03.21 - 27.03.21

Thursday - Saturday / 2pm - 6pm

Semper Sternwarte, ETH Zürich
Collegium Helveticum
Schmelzbergstrasse 25
8006 Zürich

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Short introduction text about the exhibition:

Digital media dominates everyday life: Our lives have become unimaginable without permanent access to electronic data traffic. Access to knowledge, the consumption of goods and services, but also the business activities of SMEs or international multinationals are increasingly linked to this uninterrupted flow of data. The Corona pandemic and the retreat into isolation at home in particular show us that we can shift life and work into virtual space, at least temporarily.

Behind the availability of digital processes is an infrastructure which, as a physical basis, makes data traffic, the calculation, storage, transmission and deletion of digital data possible in the first place. What has emerged is a widely ramified matrix in which economic and political interests unfold. Taking Switzerland as an example, the exhibition explores the foundations of a networked nation. Using current and historical case studies, the exhibition addresses the organization, control and management of processes in digital Switzerland. The visitor gets an impression of how local, regional and global interests are intertwined and how these are inscribed in landscapes, architectures and infrastructures.

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‍Text from Lars Müller Publishers about the Book:

Questions of privacy, borders, and nationhood are increasingly shaping the way we think about all things digital. Data Centers brings together essays and photographic documentation that analyze recent and ongoing developments. Taking Switzerland as an example, the book takes a look at the country's data centers, law firms, corporations, and government institutions that are involved in the creation, maintenance, and regulation of digital infrastructures. Beneath the official storyline—Switzerland’s moderate climate, political stability, and relatively clean energy mix—the book uncovers a much more varied and sometimes contradictory set of narratives.

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Photographic and artistic works by Andrea Helbling (Zürich) / Vladan Joler (Novi Sad) / Marc Latzel (Zürich) / Yann Mingard (Colombier) / Roland Schneider (Solothurn) / Hannes Rickli (Zürich) / Valentina Vuksic (Zürich).