SITE
COMPATIBLE FORMATS
Site-specific, multi-channel intervention
2025
Inside the mausoleum of the “Traditional Heritage Museum Djerba” Ella Barclay has installed her site-specific work COMPATIBLE FORMATS. In the former oratory, three quietly whirring fans generate holographic projections that seem to float freely in front of the walls. To fully experience the work, visitors must move actively through the space, adopting different perspectives.
In an endless loop, the holograms show male bodies that appear to drift weightlessly in water. These video recordings were made in the surroundings of Houmt Souk, only a few days before the opening of SEE DJERBA. The holograms are surrounded by a tangle of cables spreading into the room. Fine wires, glowing in various colors, extend from the center of the holograms across the walls, columns and floor. For now, they remain concentrated near the projections, yet they seem to be gradually attempting to take over the entire space. The bluish, almost technical light of the holograms bathes the dark room in a cool atmosphere, in which the colorful cables stand out vividly.
Rather than blending seamlessly into the space, COMPATIBLE FORMATS creates a strong contrast between the historical setting and the futuristic elements. The work operates between past and future. With the rapid development of new technologies in recent decades, the boundaries between humans and technology are becoming increasingly blurred. AI assistants make everyday life easier, yet as progress advances, so too may our dependence. Our decisions are increasingly guided by algorithms, while data more and more defines our identity, behavior and possibilities.
This gives rise to a paradox: advanced technologies promise freedom, efficiency and new forms of self-realization, yet at the same time bring with them the danger of self-disempowerment.
Technology can therefore no longer be understood merely as a tool, but as an active part of our society, that is shaping work, identity, and social relationships. The future relationship between humans and technology will thus depend not only on technological progress itself but also on how it is used and shaped.
In the encounter between the historical space and the technological artwork, the function of the room shifts from a mere backdrop to a bearer of knowledge and history. COMPATIBLE FORMATS activates this quality by bringing the materiality and history of the site into dialogue with futuristic forms. The tension between space and artwork creates a place where technological development does not stand in contradiction to history, but continues it and at the same time points to the question of how the future with technology should be shaped.
BACKGROUND
Ella Barclay is a visual artist and academic recognized for her work across sculpture, installation, moving images, and performances. She explores the intersections of technology, network infrastructure, and the politics of information hierarchies. Turning technical infrastructure into artistic materials, her use of industrial materials, wiring, and electronics draws attention to the underlying structures, networks, and flux of energies that enable digital life.
Her works interrogate how information flows, who controls it, and how hierarchies of knowledge shape our understanding of truth. Recurring motifs include references to conspiracy culture, misinformation, and post-truth realities. Her theatrical use of light, steam, and sound emphasizes the chaos and complexity beneath the appearance of smooth digital experiences. Her installations evoke questions about data authority, transparency, and manipulation, placing viewers in environments where they must confront the instability of information. Many installations incorporate ritualistic or participatory elements, encouraging visitors to interact with or move through the works.
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Berlin (de), CENTER FOR ART AND URBANISTIC
2023 Albury (au), MURRAY ART MUSEUM
2021 Cranberra (au), ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
2017 — 2021 EXPERIMENTA
TEACHING
Since 2019 Cranberra (au), Australian National University: Senior Lecturer
STUDIES
2014 — 2019 Sydney (au), UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY: PhD Philosophy
2005 — 2007 Edingburgh (uk), UNIVERSITY: MSc Design/Digital Media
2000 — 2004 Sydney (au), UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES: BA Art Theory
2000 — 2003 Sydney (au), UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES: BA English Literature/Media Arts
BIO
Lives in Unceded Ngunnawal Country1The Ngunnawal are the Traditional Custodians of the ACT and surrounding region. They have a continuous cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to these lands and waters, dating back tens of thousands of years. The term “unceded” acknowledges that the Ngunnawal people have never ceded their sovereignty over their traditional lands. This means they never legally surrendered their rights to the land through treaties or other agreements with colonizers. Using the phrase “Unceded Ngunnawal Country” is a way to recognize and respect the continuing connection of the Ngunnawal people to their land and to acknowledge the historical dispossession they have faced. It is a crucial step in the process of reconciliation and honoring Indigenous Australians. (au).
LINKS
ellabarclay.com
@ellarosebarclay
FEATURED IMAGE
Ella Barclay. SEE DJERBA 2025 Houmt Souk. Photo: Wassim Ben Issa