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Heath Bunting emerged from the 1980s committed to building open/ democratic communication systems and social contexts. He came from the street up, passing through and often revisiting graphity, performance, intervention, pirate radio, fax/ mail art and BBS systems to become an active participant in the explosion of the Internet.
Between 1994 and 1997 Bunting produced many Internet projects, which can be accessed at the server «www.irational.org» set-up by himself. Recently, he has moved into the field of genetics proclaiming it to be the next ‹new media›, and is also developing work in the area of physical network performance.
Heath Bunting by Heath Bunting:
"Heath Bunting was born a Buddhist in Wood Green,
London, UK and is able to make himself laugh.
He is a co-founder of both net.art and sport-art
movements and is banned for life from entering
the USA for his anti GM work. His self taught and
authentically independent work is direct and
uncomplicated and has never been awarded a prize
or been bought or sold. He is both Britain's most
important practising artist and The World's most
famous computer artist. He aspires to be a skillful
member of the public and is producing an expert
system for identity mutation."
About Irational Organisation
With dry humour and minimalist aesthetics, irational commentated the internet hype emergent as of the mid-1990s, and launched its own pseudo start-ups to match the burgeoning New Market euphoria that set in around 1996/97. Art on the net was direct, without the need for – or safety of – a mediating space or instance. This immediacy was reflected during that period by frequent skirmishes with unsmiling patent attorneys threatening irational with legal action for using company names like 7-ELEVEN, American Express, Sainsburys and Tesco. Documented in detail in the exhibition, these disputes were only a prelude to the present-day litigation surrounding copyright, intellectual property, and trademarks (most recently, FIFA’s jealous protection of the World Cup™ trademark in 2006). The world’s first net artist to announce his “retirement”, Heath Bunting stopped working exclusively with the net in 1997. His activities increasingly returned to public space (of which the internet, of course, is now a vital component). If in the “net phase” irational activities were devoted to questioning virtual borders, today the members experiment with questioning and overcoming the borders – economic, political, social – defined in real space, which they make more porous in often highly entertaining fashion.
The output of irational in the period 1996–2006 covers a broad spectrum of pertinent sociopolitical issues. From an early date, the group negotiated themes like the growing sense of in/security in an increasingly technology-based world, questions of surveillance and data collection (via “irational” questionnaires, for instance, or re-purposed customer cards), branding and trademark protection, workplace insecurity, as well as DIY cultures, media, and economies. With the shift of focus from the net to physical space, moreover, the work of irational immediately, singularly and paradigmatically displayed something that is now increasingly evident in contemporary media art: an interest not so much in the actual media and technologies as in current spaces complexly interconnected by these technologies and shot through with media-based networks.
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Presentations and Exhibitions.
2008 - Fence Challenge, passengers, None, Warsaw, Poland
2008 - The Game Of Life, the game is up, Vooruit, Gent, Belgium
2007 - From Clubcard To Citizenship, the status project, The Ica, London, United Kingdom
2006 - London Pirate Scanner, Satellite of Love, Rotterdam Film Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2006 - Urban Survivalism, sustainability and contemporary art , Translocal, Budapest, Hungary
2006 - Offensive Email, art and activism, Mejan Labs, Stockholm, Sweden
2006 - Pirate Radio Shoutouts, radio revolten, Radio Corax, Halle, Germany
2006 - Cutting, Climbing, Crossing, dayplandrugblog, Overgaden, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006 - How To Change Your Identity And Location In Ten Minutes, forum 06, Art Box, Athens, Greece
2006 - Weedanism, av festival, Social Futures Institute, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
2006 - Day Planning For Everyone, , Kalmar Konst Museum, Kalmar, Sweden
2006 - Go With The Flow, manifesto room, Performance Studies International, London, United Kingdom
2005 - Making A Map Of It, Art i educació en la societat de la informació, Fundacio La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
2005 - Spaghetti Junction Research Station, brave new brum, A2rt.org, Birmingham, United Kingdom
2005 - How To Change The Status Of Media Art, radiator festival, Trampoline, Nottingham, United Kingdom
2005 - Border Ecology, art and ecology, The Royal Society For The Encouragement Of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, London, United Kingdom
2005 - Joined Up Finances For Artists, arts funding surgery, Byron Bay Center For The Arts, Byron Bay, Australia
2005 - The Bumps, simbiosis zone de contacto, None, Luarca, Spain
2005 - Peckam Free Food Walk, Mark Dion : MICROCOSMOGRAPHIA, South London Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2005 - Cooking Cleaning And Shopping, city rumble, Overgaden, Copenhagen, Denmark
2004 - Permeable Impermanence, tension, Foam, Brussels, Belgium
2004 - Steps To Domesticate Biotechnology, art of the biotech era, Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Australia
2004 - Community Disaster Recovery, the customs house, Helix Arts, Southshields, United Kingdom
2004 - Move Yourself To Another Decade, creative digital technology talks at tate modern, Da2, London, United Kingdom
2004 - Art And Separation, art circle talks, Galerija Balen, Slovonski Brod, Croatia
2004 - Lajos Galambos Proven Networking Techniques, international symposium on net.art, Media Factory, Pecs, Hungary
2003 - Virtual Vert, art for networks, Reg Vardy Gallery, Sunderland, United Kingdom
2003 - On The Net, 6ª Bienal de Video y Nuevos Medios de Santiago, Museo De Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile
2003 - Superweed To Borderxing, kulturell terrorism , Galleri Valfisken, Simrisham, Sweden
2003 - Art And War, art intervention seminar, Control Magazine, London, Uk
2003 - Sub Surface, sub surface, Station, Bristol, Uk
2003 - Public Highway Residencies, , Spike Island, Bristol, United Kingdom
2002 - Art Is The Foundation Of Politics, border crossings, Tate Modern, London, Uk
2002 - Global Radio Phone In, a fair place, None, Istanbul, Turkey
2002 - Borderxing Guide, schleuser net, Kunstverein Munchen, Munchen, Germany
2002 - How To Be Irational, labculture, Artsway, Sway, Uk
2002 - Methods Of Camouflaging Ones Smell, Second First Committee Hearings: Transmission, Death, Technology, International Necronautical Society, London, Uk
2002 - Self Demotions Techniques, esc 01, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
2002 - Architecture Of Boundaries, psychogeography panel, Urban Drift, Berlin, Germany
2001 - Doing Net.art Without Computers, ncc48, Mur.at - Verein Zur Forderung Von Netzwerkkunst, Graz, Austria
2001 - Regressive Technology, autonomous channels, Constant Vzw, Brussels, Belgium
2001 - Linux Survivalism, strange attractor, Horse Hospital, London, Uk
2001 - Playful Trickster, Mediamatic workshop Rules&Players, Mediamatic, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2001 - Erasing Microsoft, aboriginal streams, Aboriginal Arts, Banff, Canada
2001 - Network Vandalism, New Media: networks conference, Cca Glasgow, Glasgow, Uk
2001 - Mvcradio Launch, encuentros, Ministerio De Educación Cultura Y Deporte Espanya, Teruel, Spain
2001 - On A Plate, art servers unlimited 2, Mama, Zagreb, Croatia
2000 - Art (gm), Art and Genetix residency, The Watershed, Bristol, Uk
2000 - Our Friends The Corporations, net art, The Gallery Channel, London, Uk
2000 - Community Building Software, net net net lecture series, Museum Of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles, Usa
2000 - Guided Tour Of Exhibit, world information, Public Netbase, Vienna, Austria
2000 - Self Maintaining Authorship, School of the Arts and Architecture, University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Usa
2000 - Genetix Xchange, art & communication 4, E-lab, Riga, Latvia
2000 - Net Audio Workshop And Irational's Online Toolkit, Site Gallery, Tech-nicks, Sheffield, Uk
2000 - Counter Surveillance Techniques, Liquid Hacking Laboratory, Old Boys Network, Nuernberg, Germany
2000 - Glocal Gateways, art for networks, Chapter Arts, Cardiff, Wales
2000 - Hybridising Media, net congestion, None, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1999 - Funding Superweed, Translocation, Terminal Bar, Prague, Czech Republic
1999 - Irational Groupware, lux residency, Lux Centre, London, Uk
1999 - Radio Nation, toot, Htba, Hull, Uk
1999 - Building Pirate Radio Networks, radioactiv workshop, None, Labin, Croatia
1999 - The World Service, Synch or Stream Festival, The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada
1999 - London Underground, Underground, Bridewell Theatre, London, Uk
1999 - Irational Groupwarez, Gallery residencies, Lux Centre, London, Uk
1999 - Net Art In Europe, infozone, Musée D'art Moderne De La Ville De Paris, Paris, France
1999 - Radio90.fm, Radioactiv, Labib Art Express, Labin, Croatia
1999 - Irational Art, , Hartware Podium, Dortmund, Germany
1999 - Net Radio To Fm Radio Links, RX, The Cube, Bristol, Uk
1999 - Irational Exploits, Expo Destructo, I/o/d, London, Uk
1999 - Superweed, , Project Lxx, Arhus, Denmark
1998 - Cctv, Subfiction, Werkleitz Gesellschaft, Werkleitz, Germany
1998 - Net.radio To Fm, Acoustic Space, Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria
1998 - Surveillance Systems, Scattered Affinities, Apex Art, Nyc, Usa
1998 - Net.radio - Loud And Bad, comm-x-change, The Thing, Basel, Switzerland
1998 - Hightech Biotech To Peoples Bedrooms, Art Servers, Backspace, London, Uk
1998 - Irational Collective, Pandaemonium, London Electronica Arts, London, Uk
1998 - Net.radio, Intermedia, Triskel Arts, Cork, Ireland
1998 - Loyal Audience, Net, Art and Audience, Kunsterlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
1998 - Database Interventions, Lovebytes Hypertribes Festival, Lovebytes, Sheffield, Uk
1998 - Reflexive Search Engine, Cyber Heart, Walter Philips Gallery, Banff, Canada
1998 - Communications Guerilla, Revolting, Crash Media, Manchester, Uk
1997 - Net.art On The Move, net.art residency, Kunsterlhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
1997 - Street Networking, hautlabor, Die Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
1997 - Revisiting London, Documenta X, Documenta, Kassel, Germany
1997 - Institutionalising Net.art, Cyber.T, Artamis, Geneva, Switzerland
1997 - Disney And Child Porn, Apocalypso, Banff Centre For The Arts, Banff, Canada
1997 - Personal Data Mining, Virotechnics, Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, Wolverhampton, Uk
1997 - Hacking The Social, Younet launch, Younet, Lausanne, Switzerland
1997 - Irational Competitions, Smart Show 97, Muu, Helsinki, Finland
1997 - As Bad As We Can Be, multimedia awrd launch, Salon De Livre, Geneva, Switzerland
1997 - Net.art Diploma, net.art diploma, El Escorial, Madrid, Spain
1997 - Crypto Liberal Capitalism In Culture, Summer Summit, Banff Centre For The Arts, Banff, Canada
1997 - Tesco Sainsbury Clubcard, New Ways of Communicating, Jetai, Glasgow, Uk
1997 - Irational Generalities, Beauty and the East, Ljudmila, Ljubjana, Slovenia
1997 - Conceptual Tools, virus, Zurich Design Museum, Zurich, Switzerland
1997 - Gathering Personal Data, Xchange, Re-lab, Riga, Latvia
1997 - In Under 5 Mins, Anti with E, Backspace, London, Uk
1996 - Net.art Without Computers, Kombirama Talks, Kombirama, Zurich, Switzerland
1996 - Net.art Theory, Laden, The Swiss Thing, Basel, Switzerland
1996 - Net.art Movement, Art & communication, Re-lab, Riga, Latvia
1996 - More On Pleasure, Metaforum III, Media Research Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
1996 - Slides Of Street Graphics, Bunker, Internationale Stadt, Berlin, Germany
1996 - Street Networks, , Luxus Cont, Berlin, Germany
1996 - Pleause Project, Paleolithic Psycho Pop, Garden Of Earthly Delights, Dublin, Ireland
1996 - Against Academic Curating, Viper 96, Viper, Luzern, Switzerland
1996 - Net Activism, Tactical Media, Institute Of Contemporary Arts, London, Uk
1996 - Cultural Terrorism, Next Five Minutes II, The Digital City, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1996 - Thoughts On Net Activism, Cyber T, Artamis, Geneva, Switzerland
1996 - One Man And The Presenter, , Ljudmila, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1996 - Net Insurection, Love Bytes Festival, Love Bytes, Sheffield, Uk
1996 - Visitor's Guide To London, Stadluft, None, Berlin, Germany
1996 - Chalk Bones, EPIDEMIC - The Death Of An Old Building, Open City, Bristol, Uk
1996 - Internet Begging, Root 96, Hull Time Based Arts, Hull, Uk
1996 - Kings X Phone In, Keep2, Arthouse, London, Uk
1996 - Network Graphity, Digital Chaos, The Hub, Bath, Uk
1995 - Public Telephone Networks, Wire Tap, V2, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1995 - Velocity Conspiracy, Interstanding: Understanding Interactivity, Soros Foundation, Tallin, Estonia
1995 - Surfing The Danube, alternative ars, Die Fabrikanten, Linz, Austria
1995 - From Floppy To Web, Embodied Knowledge - Virtual Space, Goldsmiths College, London, Uk
1995 - Psycho Geographical London, Nettime meeting, Venice Bienalle, Venice, Italy
1995 - Avoiding Velocity, Metaforum II, Media Research Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
1995 - Skip Raiding, Dead By Dawn, Invisible College, London, Uk
1994 - Cybercafe Projects, Iron net, Die Fabrikanten, Plassy, Czech Republic
1994 - Visitors Guide To London, Metaforum I, Media Research Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
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