Experimenta Make Sense was an exhibition that expresses the disconcerting and delightful world of the digital age.

What does it mean to feel in an era of disembodied communication? To think in a world of algorithms and artificial minds? What does it mean to ‘do’ today? Both playful and challenging, this exhibition asked audiences to immerse their senses into a ‘thinking,’ ‘feeling’ and ‘doing’ contemplation of what it is to be human in the age of technological acceleration.

Biologist E.O.Wilson believes that “the real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology.” Experimenta Makes Sense presented a program of over 20 leading international and Australian artists who engage directly with this conundrum.

Artists 

Robert Andrew, Ella Barclay, Michele Barker and Anna Munster, Briony Barr with Andrew Melatos, Steve Berrick, Antoinette J. Citizen, Adam Donovan and Katrin Hochschuh, Lauren Edmonds, Matthew Gardiner, Jane Gauntlett, Liz Magic Laser, Jon McCormack, Andrew Styan, Judy Watson and Katarina Zdjelar.

Opening Event 
6.00pm Friday 12 July 2019
Opened by Jonathan Parsons 

Drawing on Complexity
9.30am-4.30pm Friday 6 August 2019
Workshop participants joined artist Briony Barr in an experiment that combined collaborative, expanded drawing with an exploration of complex adaptive systems.

In My Shoes: Intimacy 
23 August to 1 September 2019
A 360-degree virtual experience by Jane Gauntlett that explores the power of human connection.

Installation view of Experimenta Make Sense at USC Art Gallery, 12 July to 7 September 2019. Photo: Carl Warner.