Random International was founded in 2005 by Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass as a collaborative studio for experimental practice within contemporary art.
I first heard of them when I chanced upon their well-known interactive art installation done titled “Rain Room”. In which participants are invited into a space, to experience what it would be like to be in the rain but not get wet. I was immediately intrigued by the dichotomy presented in the work and decided to read more about the work itself as well as the artists behind it.
“Questioning aspects of identity and autonomy in the post-digital age, the group’s work invites active participation. RANDOM INTERNATIONAL explores the human condition in an increasingly mechanised world through emotional yet physically intense experiences. The artists aim to prototype possible behavioural environments by experimenting with different notions of consciousness, perception, and instinct.”
– excerpt taken from Random International biography from website here
As a designer, I am deeply passionate about how design and art is able to explore tensions and gaps in the human experience and manipulate these gaps to create new environments for us to inhabit both physically and emotionally. Why I chose Random International as an artist is their continual exploration of the human condition, and they express their discovery through creating innovative and thought-provoking work that stirs up dialogues between people and within ourselves which I feel is the very core value of an interactive media art piece.