In Reflection, Shimmer

‘In Reflection, Shimmer’ is the final instalment of Corin Sworn’s project ‘Moving in Relation’, a series of public events and long-form collaborative research into human interrelationships with technology, cloud computing, and datafication.

Sworn’s series has focused on datafication as an overarching framework. Each instalment of ‘Moving in Relation’ has been designed to open-endedly explore new technologies in emotive, imaginative and playful ways.

‘Moving in Relation’ began in 2021 with ‘eco-co-location’, a live one-off performance exploring encounters with algorithmic thought that took place in a vacant office space within a suburban business park. ‘This Harmonic Chamber’, Sworn’s second performance – an incomplete, future film taking shape as a performance lecture with experimental sound – was presented in 2022 in a 19th century loom shed.

Further encounters in the series have included an interview with political philosopher Louise Amoore, and ‘The Virtual Boulevard’ – a gathering of poets from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Glasgow to work across geographies and alongside AI translation systems, supported by online tools for communication. Collaborators working with Sworn have included Luke Fowler, Jer Reid, Claricia Parinussa, Cecelia Pavon, SPAM Zine & Press, George Hampton Wale, and Guy Veal.

‘In Reflection, Shimmer’ returns to cloud space and disused corporate infrastructure in Glasgow city centre to reflect on the accumulated research and collaborative learning of ‘Moving in Relation’s’ multiple events. ‘In Reflection, Shimmer’ includes video, sound and sculpture, to engage with experiences of digital visualisation and translation. Sworn’s work is less interested in the promise of functionality or a demonstration of technological prowess, and more concerned with observing and unpacking our own intimate relationships with automatic tools.