What are you working on at the moment—what excites or challenges you about it?
We’re exploring how willing people are to open up their bodies to artificial intelligence systems. Right now, we’re painting watercolours behind glass that resemble microscopic tissue scans, and working on a four-channel video installation about medical algorithms, fantasies of immortality, and the question of who’s really using—or rather, exploiting—our health data. Our paintings mimic lung tissue samples and are analysed by a medical AI. Even though the colour texture is completely off, the system still confidently spits out (entirely hallucinated) cancer diagnoses. It’s both fascinating and unsettling: the more we entrust our lives to machine intelligence, the more alarming its errors become.
Do you have a daily ritual that inspires you or helps you find structure?
We start the day by writing out whatever’s on our minds (aka Morning Pages). Then our cocker spaniel Jane drags us outside for a bit of fresh air.
What music helps you focus or get back into a creative flow?
Max Richter’s version of ›The Four Seasons‹. It brings just the right amount of drama to the studio, especially since our collaboration is always, absolutely, and totally harmonious!
Is there a book that’s changed the way you see things, and why would you recommend it?
›Invisible Women‹ by Caroline Criado-Perez. After reading it, you start spotting the hidden gaps in the system everywhere, from seatbelts to medication dosages. A must-read for anyone who still thinks data is neutral.
If you could have any artwork in your home, what would it be?
Pierre Huyghe’s ›After ALife Ahead‹—though there wouldn’t be much home left after that.
What exhibition space in Berlin inspires you?
LAS Art Foundation. We always leave with more questions than we arrived with.
Is there an object you keep close that reflects part of your identity?
We’re not really into stuff.
What keeps you going when doubt creeps in?
Each other.
If you could have a conversation with anyone, who would it be and what would you talk about?
Ursula Le Guin. About power, science fiction, and why utopias should never be boring.
What’s something you look forward to when the workday ends?
Book. Bed. Acupressure mat.