“‘paula’ & Work: A Document on the Machinic Enslavement in Academic Capitalism 2023-24” is an exhibition by paula roush, at Borough Road Gallery, London South Bank University. Join us for the preview of the publication-installation on Tuesday, May 7, 6-9pm, and artist’s talk “Ai Disruption: AI, Education, and Algorithms of Power” on Friday, May 10, 6-9pm.
Figuring gender, academic labour, and algorithmic governance, inspired by the landmark exhibition “Women & Work: A Document on the Division of Labour in Industry 1973-75” by Margaret Harrison, Kay Hunt, and Mary Kelly. paula’s work extends these discussions into the realm of academic capitalism, offering an exploration of identity and technology.
By adopting an auto-ethnographic approach, the project crafts academic portraits and texts that together weave a technobiography. This narrative emerges from a blend of algorithmic models, deep archival research, and elements of speculative fiction, providing a reflective narrative on academic capitalism and the personal stories entwined with it.
The exhibition, conceptualized as a publication-installation, unveils data amassed from computers and the internet related to ‘paula,’ offering an experimental perspective on algorithmic datafication. It ventures into autobiographic fiction, where the corporate strategy of a university is processed through machine learning to narrate ‘paula’s’ life story in the first person.
For more information and to RSVP for the opening reception and related events, please visit https://www.msdm.org.uk/paula-work, or contact msdm@msdm.org.uk.
Supported by the London South Bank University (LSBU) Research Sabbatical Scheme for the 2023-24 academic year for an investigation into the colonial roots of the judicial portrait and current applications of artificial intelligence in governance and surveillance.
paula roush is an artist, researcher and teacher, founder of msdm, a platform that investigates the intersections of art, technology, and society through a decolonial and hydrofeminist lens. Their work critically engages with emerging technologies, exploring their impact on education, publishing, and artistic practices. roush is a Senior Lecturer at the London South Bank University and a member of the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image.
msdm [mobile strategies of display & mediation] is a collective platform dedicated to exploring the fluid entanglements of art, curatorial, and publishing practices. Founded by paula roush, msdm is at the forefront of examining how digital and physical spaces intersect and influence each other, aiming to foster a more equitable and ecologically just future.