Proposal for ESC 2036

The proposed work is part of a series of works that emerged from the installation "Deep Sea, Deep Time", presented at the 6th Kochi Muziris Biennale 2025, Kerala S. India. (https://www.athinakoumparouli.com/deep-sea-deep-time)

It consists of broken LCD screens that evoke fragile landscapes, maps, or geological strata. The work approaches the digital not as an immaterial system but as a material infrastructure bearing traces of extraction, wear, and ecological burden. The surfaces function as archaeological remnants of a possible future, or rather, a future that has already happened.

The screens are collected from recycling centers, but in reality these materials are not recycled and ultimately end up being destroyed. They are objects with multiple temporalities. They are made of mined materials, they were once a daily presence in our lives as carriers of images and information, and now reappear as fragments that are barely recognizable. In this worn-out state, they seem to revert to an early geological form, with the boundaries between the natural and technological environments collapsing.

Fragmented yet mesmerizing, they raise questions about the fragility of systems, the memory of matter, and what it means to remain human in a world of constant digital mediation.

 

For ESC 2036, I propose a wall piece in similar manner but different dimensions and design than the ones shown in the images.​

In relation to the theme of ESC 2036, the project seeks to imagine a future through the remnants of the present. The broken surfaces function as material traces of a world of constant digital mediation, bringing to the fore the invisible infrastructures, ecological consequences, and forms of dependency that accompany technology. Specifically, working with fragmented screens in the work presented in Kochi Muziris Biennale, I sought to establish a connection between Kochi’s archaeological past as a center of trade and its present as a digital hub connected to the world via undersea internet cables. The presentation and the materials used there also reflect how traditional knowledge, natural materials, and human labor continue to support the digital world. 

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Images 1-3 from the group show Collpase: data, models, worlds, Athens 2026, Saigon Space

Images 4-6 from the installation at the 6th Kochi Muziris Biennale 2025, Kerala, S. India