Morning Introduction
Core Dump | Kinshasa by Francois Knoetze
A ‘core dump’ is the recorded state of the working memory of a computer at a specific moment in time. If a crash occurs, the computer is able to recall this ‘imprint’ of its previous state as a means to debug and recover. This oddly poetic ‘memory’ of a computer forms the basis of Core Dump (2018-2019). The four-part sculptural and video series, filmed in Dakar, Kinshasa, Shenzhen and New York, extends the metaphor of a crash to the impending breakdown and unsustainability of the global capitalist techno-scientific system which is characterised by a glut of excess and a fascination with hypermodernity masquerading as progress. The series tries to uncover ways in which the materiality and immateriality of digital reality has played out to devastating effect across the continent, highlighting the need for embedding empathy into the circuitry of human relations that constitute the Digital Earth.
