Studio Above&Below is a London based art and technology practice founded by Daria Jelonek (GER) and Perry James Sugden (UK) after graduating from the Royal College of Art. Their work combines mixed reality, digital art and data in order to draw together unseen connections between humans, machines, and the environment.
Combining research and speculative storytelling, Studio Above&Below works with scientists, technologists and communities to push the boundaries of digital media for future living. Over the last years, the duo has created ground-breaking artworks using immersive technologies such as AR and XR with live data inputs in order to make the invisible visible and give our environment a voice to express itself.
The duo’s work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Royal Academy, Tate Modern, V&A London, Photophore during the Venice Biennale, Today Art Museum, WRO Biennale, HEK Basel, SONAR+D, WIRED Japan and NRW Forum.
“This new digital sculpture from Studio Above & Below is evocative and has to be experienced by anyone interested in seeing the world in a new way. The research and international collaborative nature of this project lands in the exciting and innovative intersection between art, science and technology. We are proud supporters of Studio Above & Below and their work to push the boundaries of how technology and art can impact our everyday lives.”
-Lee Nicholls, Near Now Studio
We wanted to learn a little more about what our 2021 festival theme of ‘Connection’ meant to Studio Above&Below:
“Connection means to us utilising tools and emerging technologies to bring us closer to people, non-humans, the environment, remote places. We are interested in deep connections which can happen through immersive analogue and digital experiences.”
We also wondered what the Studio were doing 10 years ago, when Frequency Festival first started. They said “Both of us just started their bachelors 10 years ago, experimenting–not knowing to become full time digital artists one day.”
And finally, we asked how Studio Above&Below hoped the arts industry builds back better after the pandemic? They “hope that we will understand how we can use digital tools differently and make them more accessible and use them meaningfully.”
Discover more of Daria and Perry’s work on their website!
Check out this incredible interview Studio Above&Below did with Its Nice That, too!
