The theme for Zimmerhof 2016 “HD (or High Definition) TREASURE” combines an exploration into contemporary aesthetics with a classic theme of the secret and precious. We enter this theme through the perspective of remix culture, the agreement that everything has been done. But we are not satisfied with this assumption. We strive to discover the unique in emerging forms of expression. “HD” a new term, a term present in everyday life from the smartphones that we keep in our pockets, to the advertisements we see on public transportation, as well as in fine art installations and videos. HD: the new dominant aesthetic in contemporary life. HD TREASURE assembles a group of artists both working for and against this new paradigm, attempting to see the TREASURE through the lens of a means of expression still yet to be fully defined.

Treasure represents the pursuit of the glorious and valuable, a quest for a mythic capsule of value and heritage. Jewelry is inherently related to this concept, focused precious forms that are waiting to be discovered. Makers of jewelry embark on personal abstract journeys to discover themselves in materials. Critics and thinkers can draw lines within the field, creating sublime maps that trace a history of treasure making, treasure hiding, and treasure finding.
Programmers, designers, gallerists, and artists meet on an HD platform, the world wide web of information, a platform of infinite dimensions. Slick glossy screens broadcast HD images, miniature cameras record HD videos, complex algorithms create HD sounds, networks of computational power data-mine HD currency. This is not a dream: This is our reality. HD: absolute clarity; brilliant, defined, expressing all known dimensions, layers of color suspended in liquid crystal cells.

“HD TREASURE” investigates the combination of technology (both new and old) and its impact on aesthetics. Within these new forms are new emotions, new ways of seeing and feeling arising? Is this the future or a passing trend? Are we, as makers, thinkers, as sensitive beings approaching towards the divine? Or are we burying ourselves into an entropic abyss of information?

Programme:

Florian Milker

Annika Pettersson

Adam Grinovich