Amazon Noir - Hacking Monopolism Trilogy
2006. Mixed media, dimensions variable.


This artwork eluded Amazon.com copyright protections through a sophisticated hack of the “Search Inside” service. Complete digital volumes of books were obtained and reassembled into .pdf format, then redistributed for free. The hacking took place in the time when traditional publishers were persuaded to digitize and hand their publications to Amazon.com. The project generated wide press coverage and press inquiries to Amazon, which in turn denied both the hacking and the vulnerability found in their system. This media performance was documented through various types of offline installations and with the appropriated books printed and assembled to match their originals. The artwork integrated the criminalization of piracy with free circulation and access to knowledge, hence addressing copyright and fair use laws within the disrupting digital economy and information monopolies.
Coauthors: Alessandro Ludovico and ubermorgen.

Selected pictures of installations at the following shows
MoCA Taipei; DEAF Rotterdam; Laboral, Gjion; Share, Turin; Transmediale, Berlin; Museum CCA, Hangzhou; CinemaCity, Novi Sad; HMKV, Dortmund; PlugIn, Basel; Edith-Ruß-Haus Oldenburg.

Video playlist


Awards
Second Prize, Transmediale Award, 2008, Berlin
First Prize, IBM Award, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, 2007, Stuttgart
Honorary Mention, Share Prize Festival, 2007, Turin
Commission, Edith-Ruß-Haus für Medienkunst, 2006, Oldenburg

Selected shows and presentations
Meme City, exhibition at China Academy of Art, 2015, Hangzhou - China
Kournikova Deleted By Memeright Trusted System, exhibition at HMKV, 2008, Dortmund - Germany
Transmediale, exhibition and lecture at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, 2008, Berlin - Germany
Revolutions - Forms That Turn, online exhibition at Biennale of Sydney, 2008, Sydney - Australia
Territories and Resources, exhibition at CinemaCity, 2008, Novi Sad - Serbia
LABcyberspaces, exhibition at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación, 2007, Gijon - Spain
Zone V2, exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, 2007, Taipei - Taiwan
Amazon Noir Memos
, lecture at Halle für Kunst, 2007, Lüneburg - Germany
My Own Private Reality, exhibition at Edith-Ruß-Haus für Medienkunst, 2007, Oldenburg - Germany
Free Radicals, exhibition at Israeli Center for digital Art, 2007, Holon - Israel
Plugin Festival, exhibition, 2007, Basel - Switzerland
EMAF Festival, exhibition, 2007, Maribor - Slovenia
STRP Festival, exhibition, 2007, Eindhoven - Netherlands
DEAF Festival, exhibition, 2007, Rotterdam - Netherlands
Share Festival, exhibition at Accademia Albertina, 2006, Turin - Italy
Peam Festival, exhibition and lecture, 2006, Pescara - Italy

Selected bibliography
Arte y copyright, Book, CSIC, Spain, 2020, ISBN 9788400106324
FLOWCHARTS, Systems of Systems, Artist Monograph, Lulu, U.S., 2019, ISBN 9780359616718
Screenshots, Book, ETK, Germany, 2019, ISBN 9783869168159
Anti-Book, Book, University of Minnesota Press, U.S., 2016, ISBN 9781452951997
Social Algorithm Art, Catalog, Peter Niemann, Text to the World, Germany, 2016, Issue N.16
Hacking art, The Art Newspaper, Magazine, Interview, China, 2016
The Routledge Companion, Book, Review, Routledge, UK, 2014, ISBN 1134748744
Digital Prohibition: Piracy and Authorship in New Media Art, Book, Bloomsbury, UK, 2012, ISBN 9781441131904
Throughout, Book, MIT Press, U.S., 2012, ISBN 9780262017503
Tick, Magazine, Switzerland, 2012, Issue 6
La Republica XL, Magazine, Review, Italy, Apr. 2011, Year VII n65
Error, Book, Bloomsbury, UK, 2010, ISBN 9781441121202
Bastard Culture, Book, Netherland, 2008, ISBN 9789039349731
Anna Kournikova Deleted By Memeright Trusted System, Catalog, hmkv, Germany, 2008, ISBN 9783941100268
Territory & Resources, Catalog, CinemaCity Festival, Serbia, 2008, ISBN 9788686877109
Revolutions - Forms That Turn, Catalog, Biennale of Sydney, Australia, 2008, ISBN 9780500976845
Conspire, Catalog, Tansmediale Festival, Germany, 2008, ISBN 9783865884619
TATE etc., Magazine, TATE Modern, UK, 2008, Issue 14-08
The Fundamentals of Digital Art, Book, Lusanna, , 2007, ISBN 2940373582
Zone V2 Catalog, Catalog, Taipei, , 2007, ISBN 9789868321120
DEAF, Catalog, V2, Netherland, 2007, ISBN 9789056625771
Lab_Cyberspaces, Catalog, Spain, 2007, ISBN 9788461158805
Contagion and Repetition, Ephemera, Magazine, Finland, 2007, ISSN 1473-2866 Vol. 7(2): 287-308
Piracy Distribution Control, M/C Journal, Magazine, France, 2007, Vol. 10 Issue 5
De:bug, Magazine, Interview, Debug Verlags, , 2007, Issues 114-118
Libros Robados, El Commercio, Newspaper, Review, Spain, 2007
Share Festival, Catalog, Italy, 2006
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Newspaper, Review, Germany, Feb. 5th 2006

Amazon Noir for Hacking Monopolism Trilogy at Museum China Academy of Art, Hangzhou - China


Transmediale, exhibition and lecture at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin - Germany


Zone V2, exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei - Taiwan


Share Festival, exhibition at Accademia Albertina, Turin - Italy


Kournikova Deleted By Memeright Trusted System, exhibition at HMKV, Dortmund - Germany



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