Proprietary algorithms secret data troves and inscrutable systems rule the day. How is this
registered in art? In Poetics of Encryption Nadim Samman explores works that highlight the
hidden dimensions of our technological landscape. Running counter to erroneous claims regarding
a new culture of transparency and openness such artworks address black sites black boxes and
black holes-all the while toggling between enlightened concern and occult dreaming. NADIM
SAMMAN is Curator for the Digital Sphere at KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin. He read
Philosophy at University College London before receiving his PhD from the Courtauld Institute
of Art. Widely published in 2019 he was First Prize recipient of the International Award for
Art Criticism (IAAC). Major curatorial projects included the 4th Marrakech Biennale (2012) the
5th Moscow Biennale for Young Art (2015) and the 1st Antarctic Biennale (2017).
