Factory of the Sun (film still) 2015

Editor: This is a still from Hito Steyerl's "Factory of the Sun" from 2015, a digital animation incorporating performance. It’s interesting; it almost looks like a video game. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This piece pulses with potential readings, doesn't it? I see an interrogation of how images and data shape our perception, particularly of conflict. Note how the golden figures' movements seem both dance-like and strangely constrained, echoing how bodies are captured and manipulated by digital technology. The figures stand for something in our culture and they have psychological weight, calling to mind ideas around surveillance and control within seemingly playful interfaces. What symbolic value might the setting – that graffiti-covered structure beneath the glaring "sun" – carry, in your opinion? Editor: Maybe it represents decay and forgotten history in contrast with a utopian digital world? Curator: Precisely! That juxtaposition creates a tension. Steyerl is adept at using familiar visual language – think video games, surveillance footage – to unveil the hidden power structures operating within them. That orb overhead looks like it’s falling, right? It has something in common with Icarus and the symbolic meanings behind falling out of favor with authority. This invites a critique of digital spaces as potential factories for manipulation rather than sites of liberation. Editor: So, the sun isn't just a life-giver, but a potential source of control too. It definitely puts a new spin on how I see digital art and its commentary on society. Curator: Indeed. Reflect on the fact that our interpretations will inevitably evolve, as our relationship with these technologies does. That's where the ongoing power of visual symbols reside!