Birgit Bachler

Birgit Bachler is an Austrian artist, designer and researcher previously based in Rotterdam/NL and Wellington/The Whanganui-a-Tara/NZ recently settled again back home in Styria. Birgit has a background in interactive, audiovisual art, critical media design and hard- and software art. Curious how contemporary technology manipulates human and non-human connections she crafts experimental networks, often combining new and obsolete media with custom-built hardware and software. By dismantling and manipulating code and mechanisms of seemingly social technologies, she designs critical, sometimes playful contemplations of new media. In her most recent research she investigates Internet of Things and radio technologies as a means to give voice to the more-than-human world in networked environments.

Birgit has exhibited and presented at art institutions such as V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media (Rotterdam, NL), The Netherlands Media Art Institute (Amsterdam, NL), Museumsquartier (Vienna, AT) and media arts festivals such as Transmediale (Berlin, GER), xCoAx (Graz/online), ISEA (Istanbul, TR & Manizales, CO), Piksel Festival (Bergen, NO) and Sonic Acts Academy (Amsterdam, NL).
Her current research interests are:

(a-)social technologies and networks
lo-fi handmade electronics
reappropriation of obsolete media
DIY and open source practices in the arts
Hand-harvested, open and big data as concrete poetry

>_List of publications
Bachler, B. (2021). Hello (more-than-human) World. Prototyping an Internet of Things for water with the project wildthings.io. (Doctoral Thesis, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.
Bachler, B. (2020). Slowness, Streams, and Networks in the More-than-human world. Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts, 12(3), 25–44.
Bachler, B. (2018). Unwrapping di4lo9s. Hamster, 1(2). 40–43.
Bachler, B., & Langelaar, W. (2015). +rwx data and pipes: Better design for otherwise non writable infrastructure and unreadable data. Libre Graphics Magazine, 2(4), 16–21.
Bachler, B. (2013). Like Reality. Leonardo Electronic Almanac, 19(4), 26–35.
Bachler, B. (2012). Discrete Dialogue Network. In Sniff, Scrape, Crawl… {on privacy, surveillance and our shadowy data double} (pp. 24–29). London: Mute Publishing Ltd.
Bachler, B. (2012). A cozy place for invisible friends. In Sniff, Scrape, Crawl… {on privacy, surveillance and our shadowy dataFdouble} (pp. 92–99). London: Mute Publishing Ltd.
Bachler, B. (2011). Discrete Dialogue Network. In De Krooning (6th ed., pp. 300–301). Rotterdam: Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam University.
Bachler, B. (2011). The Temporary Networks of the Unknown (Master Thesis). Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam. Retrieved from http://birgitbachler.com/thesis.html
Bachler, B., & Jongstra, A. (2011). DIT Fanzine. Linz, Austria: LiWoLi.
Bachler, B. (2011). Your Content is Safe. Perspectives on Censorship Issues with Electronic Books. Rotterdam: Piet Zwart Institute.
Bachler, B. (2010). Your Personality in a Shopping Cart F Why did people stop caring about their private data? Rotterdam: Piet Zwart Institute.

>Exhibitions
Bachler, B, Sklenars, E., Illfe, O. & Bowler, K (2022). Alternating Undercurrents [networked microcontrollers, inflatables, mixed media, video] at College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington (NZ).
Bachler, B. (2019). Open Studio [mixed media, video] in Pyramid Power Festival (Group Show), Pyramid Club, Wellington (NZ). http://www.soundexplorers.co.nz
Bachler, B. (2017). Moturoa Transmissions [mixed media, networked microcontrollers] in Upstream Art Trail (Group Show), Central Park, Brooklyn Wellington (NZ). http://upstream.org.nz/art-trail/
Bachler, B. (2016). LUX. Wellington Light Festival 2015 [video] in The Inventions of Light / Les inventions de la lumière (Group Show), School of Image Arts, Ryerson University, Toronto (CA). http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/torontomontreallille/
Bachler, B. (2015). Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You. The Internet [video] in The work of art in the age of technological remediation (Group), Kulturni Centar Požega, Belgrad (RS). http://www.kcpozega.rs/html/gradska_galerija/izlozbe_2015/ududtremedijacije.html
Bachler, B. (2014). Big Data Wall Fillers [generative video] in Piksel Savers, Piksel Festival (Group), Bergen Kjøtt, Bergen (NO). http://14.piksel.no/category/piksel-savers
Bachler, B. (2014). Copy Wildly, Solo Show im Toi Pōneke Arts Center, 2014, Wellington (NZ) http://birgitbachler.com/copywildly/
Bachler, B., Langelaar, W., Mundy, O. & Schwartz, T. (2013). Commodify.us [mixed media] in Cyber in Securities (Group Show), Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC (US).
Bachler, B. (2012). Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You. The Internet [interaktive Skulptur] in DEAF 2012, Double Take (Group), Blaak10 Gallery, Rotterdam (NL).
Bachler, B. (2011). Bonuskaart Friends [mixed media, software] in The Art of Hacking (Group), Netherlands Media Arts Institute NIMK, Amsterdam (NL).
Bachler, B. (2012). Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You. The Internet [interaktive Skulptur] in #isthemessage (Group), Kunstenlab, Deventer (NL).
Bachler, B. (2011). The Discrete Dialogue Network in Catching Flies in the Alternet (Group), Roodkapje Gallery, Rotterdam (NL)
Bachler, B. (2010). Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You. The Internet [interaktive Skulptur] Speedshow Re:Belhuis (Group), Ace Teleboutique, Rotterdam (NL). http://speedshow.net/speed-show-rebelhuis/


>Lectures/Workshops/Performances
Martyn, R., Kilford, A., Bachler, B. & Williams, T. (2021). Slow Interference Methodologies: practice-based research and interfering pedagogies. In ASLEC-ANZ 2021: Beyond human scales. Victoria Universitz of Wellington, New Zealand. https://beyond-human-scales.net/programme/
Smith, S., Whitaker, T., Bachler, B. & Buxton, M. (2021). ADA – Digital and Community in Aotearoa New Zealand. In D. Ciccoricco (Chair), DHA 2021: Ka Renarena Te Taukaea / Creating Communities. University of Canterbury, New Zealand. http://dh.canterbury.ac.nz/dha2020/conference-programme/
Bachler, B. (2019). Building a more-than-human Internet of Things with water.: iRGBit/wildthings.io [C++]. https://github.com/iRGBit/wildthings.io (Original work published 2017)
Bachler, B. (2018, February). Materialising a more-than-human Internet of Things. In Sonic Acts Academy 2018. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Tito, J., Smith, V., Parker, K., Jerram, S., Barclay, L. & Bachler, B. (2011, December). Tributaries, Nodes & Networks. In B. Bachler (Chair), Sustaining the Seas Conference. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Bachler, B. (2017, December 11). An Internet of Water methods for building networks within more-than-human context. In Sustaining the Seas Conference. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Bachler, B. (2017, June 27). Who are the things in your Internet of Things? On more- than-human participatory design. Presented during UX Research@VUW. School of Design, Victoria University, Wellington, NZ.
Bachler, B. (2017, June 14). Materialising a more-than-human Internet of Things. In International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2017. Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia.
Bachler, B. (2017, February). Wildthings.io. Delivered at Common Ground, Hutt Public Art Festival. Korokoro Stream, Petone, NZ.
Bachler, B. (2016, Nov 6). Materialising a more-than-human Internet of Things. Presented during Mount Cook Spring Fling. Papawai Reserve, Wellington, NZ.
Bachler, B. (2016, July 5). Materialising a more-than-human Internet of Things. Presented at Greater Wellington Audience Engagement Hui. Government House, Wellington, NZ.
Bachler, B. (2016, June 7). The Internet of Wild Things. Presented at Wellington IoT Meetup. BizDojo, Wellington, NZ.
Bachler, B. (2016, April). The Internet of Wild Things. Presented at Arduino Day, Wellington, NZ: Victoria University of Wellington.