INDEX Surface

“The superficial now becomes central (...) We are surface bound creatures.” ARÈNES, [et al.] (2018)

INDEX is a Biennial of Art and Technology, part of the program of the city of Braga as a UNESCO Creative City for the Media Arts. It explores artistic practices and critical thinking in which technology assumes a central role.

The 2022 edition of INDEX explores thematically the notion of Surface. Either as visual platforms or haptic entities, boundaries or interfaces, zones of emergence or extraction, Surfaces represent vital elements of both human and natural ecosystems. They also constitute powerful metaphors for artistic practices concerning technology, raising important issues that urgently need to be addressed. Comprising exhibitions, performances, conferences and educational contents, Index presents a particular perspective on Art and Technology in Contemporary Art, placing the Surface at a central level.

Index identity puts the notion of surface in perspective by exploring the boundaries between surface, form and content. It uses fading as a visual metaphor for the fundamental task of the surface — fading in function of its invisible background but in this case assuming a central level. This fading assumes a central focus on compositions moving between formats overlapping text. The Surface is reinforced with the predominant use of white color as a background where the black text stands out in organic compositions in its right and left alignments blending with the blur forms.