We are very proud to introduce The Island’s collection born from the productive intersection between art and technology.  Straddling and shaping well-established narratives as well as nascent ones, it traces generative art histories from the 1960s and hosts work made by some of the most innovative artists working today in both traditional media and on-chain. It was born from Marcin Wiszniewski’s wish to actively intervene in a future in which the effects of technology have radically transformed how art has been conceived, commissioned, produced and displayed.

The production of knowledge is central to The Island’s collecting ethos and is critical to the acquisition and sponsorship programme of both established and emerging artists. The collection will centre on a series of topics all based on research that is committed to advancing a landscape in which the relationship between art and technology engenders unprecedented innovation. The main topics are:

Choreographing Light and Space in the Digital Age

Attention will centre on how artists like Ann Veronica Janssens have used technology to make novel interventions in space. What new opportunities has technology opened and can these help us change our perception of space?  Artists of particular interest in this section include:

A New Systems Consciousness

Engaging with the concept of ‘systems’ and its accompanying theories, this topic will look at the work of artists like Roman Opalka who broadly use systems theory to advance their practice. How are artists acknowledging and exposing the systems that they operate in? Artists of particular interest in this section include:  

·More than Words: Art and Language

Looking at the work of artists like Stefan Brüggemann, the collection will encompass and examine artists who have examined the way in which new technologies have changed how we use language. How is language informed by today’s digital technologies? Artists of particular interest in this section include:

Between Randomness and Control

Focusing on the work of artists such as Robert Morris, this section will centre on randomness in contemporary art practice. How is randomness, as a crucial artistic strategy,  changing with advent of digital technologies? Artists of particular interest in this section include:

Information overflow: Art and in the Age of the Database

Concentrating on the work of artists such as Refik Anadol, the collection will look at artistic production that unpacks the phenomenon of data overflow in contemporary society. Can artists show us how to engage productively with the overwhelming amount of data available today whilst unmasking its more oppressive structures? Artists of particular interest in this section include:

Using these topics to create a museum quality collection, The Island is determined to cultivate novel models of knowledge and experience to help reimagine and re-enact new paradigms opened by technology.  Its remit is not only to collect, produce research and innovative curatorial proposals but also to sponsor the most promising emerging artists today providing them with invigorating platforms in which to showcase and promote their work. The Island is a laboratory and site of discovery as much as a selection of carefully curated works determined to reimagine new artistic paradigms opened by technology.