This exhibition explores the nature of a contemporary existence that encompasses real, virtual, logical and biological realities. It endeavours to portray the manner in which all these disparate realities are enmeshed in a sharing and confusion of codes and signifiers.

We live in an age when our physical and cerebral activities are progressively polarized. The AIDS crisis has made us aware of the frailty of our immune systems and its interaction with micro organisms. The prevalence of this disease, plus the social stigma that it bears, has tempered our personal transactions. It has also made us universally aware that we as creatures are permeated with interdependent biologically and socially coded systems. Parallel to this are the advancements in technology which have enabled us to conference globally by means of computer terminals. These “gateways” allow us entrance to a reality in which we may recreate ourselves independently of our physical reality. The personalities that we encounter in this so-called “cyber-space” are disengaged from their physical selves yet, nevertheless, project a physical presence. Negotiations, in this realm are also increasingly governed by social mores which, like the entities transversing this terrain, are in a process of redefinition. Furthermore, this new form of communication is becoming an amplifier for social, psychological and biological concerns.

“Ciphers” is an attempt to provide a portrait and a reflection of the politics of these systems which presently define us.