Lena-Maria Stupitzky - Specters of the Internet

Ongoing Paranormal Investigations
in collaboration with Nick Förster

Information technologies have always been accompanied by supernatural phenomena. With the establishment of the telegraph system, the deceased began to communicate via binary knocking. Today, we believe in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies - superstition is central to the UX of digital worlds. At the same time, lost futures and unresolved conflicts haunt the Internet like a Freudian-Marxist glitch.

As paranormal investigators, we pursue these unseemly phenomena with our inventory of ghost-hunting tools. EMF detectors attune us to 5G, while WIFI sniffers detect virtual poltergeists. IP maps and Ouija APIs establish a stable connection to forgotten networks. In the depths of these shadow worlds, we summon Comrade Siri and ask Zuse's Z3 about its unfinished business.
"Specters of the Internet involves ongoing paranormal investigations, prototyping ghost-hunting devices, and performative séances. Our investigations are based on historical research, investigation of haunted sites (online and offline), and interviews with IT experts and data activists. Building ghost-hunting devices out of microcontrollers, antennas, and code snippets adds a material dimension to these stories. These devices will be assembled as an interactive installation that will be activated during cybernetic séances, where we will activate the tools together with the participants. The investigation of a local WIFI anomaly becomes an entry point to delve into stories of invisible labor and forgotten futures.

In the past year, the project was showcased at several prestigious venues: MESH Festival für Kunst und Technologie in Basel, Lab.30 Medienkunstfestival Augsburg, the Deutsches Museum (Festival der Zukunft, Munich), the Pinakothek der Moderne (Pavillon333, Munich), and the Kunsthaus Kloster Fürstenfeld. The project received recognition, being awarded the "Kunst-Förderpreis" at Kunsthaus Kloster Fürstenfeld and the jury prize at the Lab.30 Media Art Festival in Augsburg (Lab.30 Award 2024).

Foto: Nick Förster – Lena-Maria Stupitzky

Digital Hauntology - an Installation

Inspired by eclectic ghost-hunting instruments (ranging from emf-detectors to robotic teddy bears) our paranormal investigation tools help you to feel invisible fields, collect the energies of distant server farms, and summon subaltern AI-systems. Accompanied by a séance-video, we assembled these tools as an interactive installation.

2024 Festival der Zukunft – Deutsches Museum München

Specters of the Internet – Installation

Specters of the Internet – Installation – Foto: Nick Förster

Cybernetic Séances

In performative sessions, we invite the audience to delve into the shadow worlds of digital technologies. Together, we sound electromagnetic fields, search for each other uncanny data transmissions, and navigate through lost networks.