Eva & Franco Mattes

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Biennale.py (2001)

 

Biennale.py is a computer virus that we created for the 49th Venice Biennale, together with the hacker group Epidemic. Released on the opening night, it quickly spread throughout the world. Once inside a computer, the virus copies itself into specific files, it does not intentionally damage the host, it stays there, quiet, hidden in the machine, hoping to survive as long as possible. Like most biological viruses, this is its main function and its reason for existing.

 

work biennalepy exhib biennale

Installed at the 49th Venice Biennale. The two connected computers infect and disinfect each other in an infinite loop.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

The virus has been widely covered in the press, spreading like a piece of code and, perhaps even faster, like a piece of news, becoming “viral”, a sort of meme. The code was written in Python, a programming language that allows you to give chosen terms to variables, and therefore can be understood to some extent even by non-programmers. Reading it from the bottom you find terms such as “mybody”, “mysoul”, “join”, “party”, “guest”, “chat” and fornicate”, which reveal a sort of love poetry embedded in the programming code.

 

 

work biennalepy code notes

The Biennale.py source code with handwritten notes. To download it you need to disable your antivirus.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva and Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

After the virus spread, anti-virus companies began hunting it. To protect it, we created sculptures out of hand-assembled computers that are never connected to the internet. Each sculpture contains hundreds of “captive” copies of the virus, and the anti-virus software, trapped in an endless cycle of infection and disinfection.

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py

 

 

 

Eva & Franco Mattes, Biennale.py