Alis Oldfield

Interested in ecology, magic and technology, Alis’ practice is situated in the blurry boundaries between these things. Her research project imagines the internet as a landscape with ecological systems, as a way to diagnose its health. Not only does the infrastructure and energy demand of the internet have an ecological cost but its creeping monoculturalism limits meaningful interaction, the spread of vital information and the impact of grassroots organisation that could mobilise the fight against climate catastrophe. The project will question whether the soil of the internet is sick, adopting a fiction-as-method art practice to ask how ecological thinking can help create a vital, life-sustaining future in-terra-net.

As artist-in-residence, Alis is learning about water management, conservation and ecology, making parallels to our use of and rights to data online. Funded by Arts Council Wales & The National Lottery. In partnership with Elan Valley Trust, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Community Arts Rhayader and District.

Cut Copy Remix at Vivid Projects and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; artists Alis Oldfield, Rosa Francesca and Leanne O’Connor – were co-commissioned alongside artist Mixed Milk to explore the creative potential of Birmingham Museums Trust’s Digital Image Resource. And a series of workshops and activities organised by Black Hole Club & Ikon Young People held on diverse online platforms. These were gathered and presented as a game of ping pong between groups in a poster series. These posters were available across the city and installed on Ikon Gallery’s Slow Boat in August 2021. Visit artofficedoc.online