*The gallery will be closed 24 & 31 Dec 2023
arebyte presents CULTUS, a new solo project by artist Zach Blas. Co-commissioned by arebyte, London, and Secession, Vienna, this immersive multimedia exhibition explores religious belief, artificial intelligence, and the California tech industry.
Featuring AI-generated imagery, text, and sound alongside computer graphics and motion-capture performance, CULTUS is the second instalment of Blas's Silicon Traces trilogy, a series of moving image installations that contends with the beliefs, fantasies, and histories influential to Silicon Valley's visions of the future.
CULTUS is the Latin word for "worship", which articulates the act solicited from those who encounter the installation. As such, visitors may find themselves caught in acts of devotion to gods they did not know they already served. However, a sacrilegious presence manifests within, a Heretic that incites shattering counter-beliefs.
The exhibition features a wide-ranging cast of singers and performers, including micha c rdenas, Ricardo Dominguez, Nick Granata, Susu Laroche, Susanne Sachsse, Aga Ujma, and Izzy Yon.
CULTUS is generously supported by a 2023 Connections Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Jason Kemper, and Thor Perplies.
The work forms part of arebyte's 2023/24 programme The Body, The Mind, The Soul, which questions the complex nature of humanity in the realm of technological progression. The exhibition is accompanied by a booklet featuring texts by arebyte curator Rebecca Edwards and anthropologist and folklorist Amy Hale.
This exhibition contains representations of blood and semen, and a soundscape with allusions to sexual acts.