Karen Harkema South African, b. 1969
Molecular Bridge (The Schism), 2025
Mixed media with reclaimed electronic components, circuit board, wiring, and fluorescent acrylic on panel
60 x 56 x 3.5cm
Copyright The Artist
Molecular Bridge serves as a visual thesis for the Act of Rebinding. The work is structured as a diptych, a format historically used for religious altarpieces, which here elevates the...
Molecular Bridge serves as a visual thesis for the Act of Rebinding. The work is structured as a diptych, a
format historically used for religious altarpieces, which here elevates the technological subject matter to a
sacred status. The diptych presents a stark dialectic: the left panel represents the unmade machine, while
the right panel represents the emergent organic form.
The left panel is a dark, textured field. A necro-technological landscape populated by the detritus of the
digital age.
These elements are stripped of their function and arranged like specimens in an archive or
bones in a reliquary. The darkness of the background suggests the void of the black box, the opaque nature
of AI technology that we use but do not understand.
In contrast, the right panel features a vibrant, painted surface where generative, grid-like marks have
evolved into an organic, cellular network. This side represents the biological potential, the messiness of life
that defies binary categorization. The paint is layered, scraped, and reworked, mimicking the evolutionary
process of mutation and adaptation.
format historically used for religious altarpieces, which here elevates the technological subject matter to a
sacred status. The diptych presents a stark dialectic: the left panel represents the unmade machine, while
the right panel represents the emergent organic form.
The left panel is a dark, textured field. A necro-technological landscape populated by the detritus of the
digital age.
These elements are stripped of their function and arranged like specimens in an archive or
bones in a reliquary. The darkness of the background suggests the void of the black box, the opaque nature
of AI technology that we use but do not understand.
In contrast, the right panel features a vibrant, painted surface where generative, grid-like marks have
evolved into an organic, cellular network. This side represents the biological potential, the messiness of life
that defies binary categorization. The paint is layered, scraped, and reworked, mimicking the evolutionary
process of mutation and adaptation.
Join our mailing list!
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.