THE LONG NOW

A soap bubble usually remains stable for only a few moments – it is a perfectly formed sphere with an iridescent surface that reflects its surroundings. As one of the classical vanitas symbols the soap bubble traditionally stands for the transience of the moment and the fragility of life.
THE LONG NOW approaches the soap bubble from a contemporary perspective – with reference to its chemical and physical properties as well as recent scientific and technological developments.
THE LONG NOW is aimed at extending the lifespan of a soap bubble, or even to preserve it forever. Using an improved formula, a machine generates a bubble, sends it to a chamber with a controlled atmosphere and keeps it there in suspension for as long as possible. The project is presented in the form of an experimental set-up in which the newly created soap bubble oscillates permanently between fragility and stability.

Credits:
Realised within the framework of EMARE Move On at OBORO’s New Media Lab and a residency at Rustines|Lab, Perte de Signal, both in Montréal, Canada. With support of the Culture Programme of the European Commission, the Goethe Institut, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and FACT.

Images (Selection):

Video documentation:

THE LONG NOW from Verena Friedrich on Vimeo.

The Long Now, Verena Friedrich (DE ) from werkleitz on Vimeo.

Awards & Nominatios:
Share Prize, Turin, Italy (main prize)
TRANSITIO_MX award, Mexico City, Mexico (main prize)
lab.30 award 2016, Augsburg, Germany (main prize)
“Golden Cube”, Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel, Germany (nomination)
NTAA – New Technological Art Award, Gent, Belgium (nomination)
Prix Cube – International Digital Art Prize for Emerging Artists, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France (nomination)
“Media in Space” award, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Germany (nomination)

Exhibition History (THE LONG NOW 2.0):
“Rêves et Enchantements”, Nuit Numérique, Saint-Ex, Reims, France, 2024
Safra’Numériques Festival, Amiens, France, 2024
“aBIOTIC”, New Media Gallery, New Westminster, BC, Canada, 2023
“Irisations”, L’Espace Multimedia Gantner, France, 2022
“Weltmaschine”, OÖ Kulturquartier, Linz, Austria, 2022
“Parallel Worlds. Art, Science & Fiction” at Kunstmuseum Celle, 2021–20
Meta.Morf X – TRONDHEIM INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE FOR ART & TECHNOLOGY, 2020
EDGE OF NOW, gallery damdam, Berlin, 2020–19
“Edge of Now”, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2019
“GiriGiri/On The Edge”, Ars Electronica @ Tokyo Midtown, Japan, 2029
Mois Multi 2019, Québec City, Canada
Matter Transform Sequence (Solo), MMII Kunstverein Mönchengladbach, Germany
“Three Rooms – Edge of Now”, Chronus Art Center, Shanghai, China
“Three Rooms”, Nam Jun Paik Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
“Frankenstein”, Share Festival XIII, Turin, Italy
“Ecritures numériques”, Musée L, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
“The Long Now”, Museum Goch, Germany
Transitio_MX 07 Festival, Mexico City, Mexico (winner Transitio_MX award)
Currents New Media 2017, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
“On Alchemy and Magic”, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam, NL
“Cinema 2.0 : The Phantom Machine”, Ifva Festival, Hong Kong
“The Act of Magic”, Artefact Festival, STUK, Leuven, Belgium
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, Cologne, Germany
MONITORING exhibition, Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel, Germany
NTAA exhibition, Foundation Liedts-Meesen, Zebrastraat, Gent, Belgium
Lab.30 festival, Augsburg, Germany (winner lab.30 award)
5th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, Moscow, Russia
“Irisations”, Foundation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence, France

Exhibition History (THE LONG NOW 1.0 – prototype):
“The Future of Visions”, EMAF Osnabrück, Germany
Prix Cube Exhibition, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Expanded Media Ausstellung, 29. Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany “Move On – New Media Art from Australia, Canada and Europe”, Werkleitz Festival, Halle (Saale), Germany
“THE LONG NOW”, 1822 Forum, Frankfurt/Main, Germany (solo)
“THE LONG NOW”, OBORO (in the context of EMARE), Montréal, Canada

Related Press (Selection):
aBiotic, preview-art.com, 04/2023
At the New Media Gallery, a Reminder of What It Means to Be Alive, thetyee.ca, 02/2023
aBIOTIC Filters Water Through A Digital Lens, westcoastcurated.com, 02/2023
Transnumeriques 2018, ArtJaws, 03/2018
We Make Money Not Art, 03/2017
Artefact Festival Leuven 2017, Metropolis M, 03/2017
“Wat is de rol van magie in ons leven?” (video), De Redactie, 03/2017
“The Long Now, transitional soap bubbles”, neural.it, 01/2017