Techart Conference

Yandell Walton (Austrailia)

■ Abstract

Yandell Walton will discuss recent work that engages with technology to explore our impact on the environment. By merging the actual and virtual through technological processes, Yandell’s recent work is inspired by multispecies ethnography, and bridges the surreal, mechanical, and terrestrial in pursuit of plant and human symbiosis. Through working with technology, new work aims to create hybrid species, where the living and the non-living, the human and the non-human intermingle. Her most recent work will be presented at the International Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA) in Brisbane Australia in June 2024. This work utilises Photogrammetry, Motion Capture, AI-powered applications and software to create cross-species forms that explore the posthuman.

■ Bio

Yandell Walton is an Australian artist working with moving image, computer-generated imagery and installation. She has become recognised for immersive works that merge the actual and virtual to investigate notions of impermanence, interrogating shifting environments caused by the climate crisis. She takes an experimental approach to practice, constantly challenging conventional modes, and interrogating the potential of technology, collaboration, & spatial contexts to seek transformative experiences. Her distinct aesthetic and interest in innovative practice are underpinned by a deep concern with contemporary ideas that aim to shift audiences thinking, inviting them to consider the Anthropocene from various perspectives. 

She recently participated in the Labverde program, a residency in the Amazon Rainforest informing major new projects throughout 2022 and 2023.  Her work has been commissioned, exhibited, and awarded nationally and internationally including ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE Festival (Australia), Light City Baltimore (USA), Digital Graffiti Florida (USA) and International Symposium of Electronic Art (Sydney). She was the recipient of the Australian Network for Art and Technology IDEATE grant and the Melbourne University Philip Hunter Fellowship.