Bit by Bit. Digital Landscapes*

In the exhibition Bit by Bit, Noa Jansma sells the clouds above Schiedam, Muhcine Ennou presents landscapes in which you can virtually dream away, and Hi Kyung Eun makes the often-confusing world of computer bits and bytes tangible yet fragile.

New living environment
What does our living environment look like in a digital reality? These three artists show how a whole new type of landscape is being created under the influence of rapidly changing technology, with the ‘bit’ in title referring to the units of computer data that help us build digital worlds. ‘Bit by Bit is an experimental exhibition that we were able to create thanks to a contribution from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science,’ says museum director Anne de Haij. The exhibition is presented alongside Living Landscape, an exploration the last six centuries of art in the Maas delta in south Holland. 

Noa Jansma, Buycloud, 2020. Photograph: Iris Rijskamp

Invest in a cloud
We all know them, but who actually owns the clouds? Visit the Buycloud installation and purchase your favourite, with prices varying from 50 cents to €10,000. This artwork by Noa Jansma (1996) isn’t only about the digital ownership of something as ephemeral as a cloud, but also about one of the great topics of our time: the climate. Scientists predict that the emission of harmful substances will cause the now-common wispy clouds to disappear in 100 to 150 years. If market forces increase the price of a product when it’s scarce, then buying a cloud could be a good investment!

Muhcine Ennou, Dreamland, 2022

Digital landscapes
While Jansma offers real clouds above Schiedam, Muhcine Ennou (1991) presents only imaginary landscapes. The artist immerses you in a lifelike dream world created in an endless flow of creativity. Ennou’s digital work also lends itself to online sales: if you buy his work, you get a digital certificate of ownership – a Non-Fungible Token or NFT, available at Foundation.app on the OpenSea platform.

Hi Kyung Eun, Strange Cohabitation, 2021. Photograph: Femke Reijermann

Ceramic displays
Artist Hi Kyung Eun (1995) is interested in how the digital landscape works on a personal and intimate level. Her installation Strange Cohabitation is a place where her digital self can live, with fragments from the artist’s daily life projected on ceramic screens made with a 3D printer. In this way, the artist builds a bridge between the physical and virtual worlds.

New Art programme
Bit by Bit is part of the experimental New Art programme at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, created together with new networks that arise out of popular culture and/or non-Western art traditions. The pop-up exhibition Glass-Hard. Post-graffiti art in the Schiedam glass factory was part of this programme.

With thanks to
Gemeente Schiedam, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and Mondriaan Fund