Aside from exploring the complex relationship between technology and data, several artists exhibiting at the fair are also looking at these ideas in a broad, more poetic sense. ‘When people think of datasets, they may think of it more in a scientific way like a clearly defined group of numbers. But for an artist like Jesse Stecklow, data is everywhere. Language is data too,’ says Lucas Casso, founder of Berlin-based gallery Sweetwater, who will be showing Stecklow in the Positions sector. The Los Angeles-based artist will be showing a subtle installation of objects inspired by light and time. The piece builds on familiar forms used in his work over the past decade.

At the heart of Stecklow’s practice is a fascination with extracting data from his exhibition sites. He often installs air samplers-commonly used in factories to test for toxins–in spaces. Upon discovering elevated ethanol levels in a gallery, he began to reflect on the fact that most ethanol in the U.S. is produced from corn. This led him to experiment with corn-related products in his work and explore linguistic associations. The phrase ‘ear of corn’ came to mind, for instance, leading him to explore human ear imagery and related objects. In From Ear to Ear (2019) he created a platform–displaying a screen print of air sampler data–upon which sat a dried corn cob, corn whiskey, acetic acid (an oxidized form of the corn-based alcohol), and ear drops containing acetic acid. Creating an open-ended timeline of sorts, the piece is an example of how his art brings to light fascinating connections about our environment that we may ordinarily miss.

‘When people first encounter Jesse’s work, it can seem esoteric, didactic or even slightly confusing,’ says Casso. ‘But much of it relies on people’s abilities to recognize patterns. That can open up the work to be about more than the physical sculptures. You can think about agriculture, economy and fields that are much wider than art.’

As an increasing number of artists harness data as a new medium, their work offers audiences relief from the onslaught of information flooding our devices. Instead, their work invites people to see the world through a different lens at a slower pace. ‘You can walk through an art installation, but you can’t enter a newspaper article,’ says Casso. ‘Art generates unique experiences and translates information in ways that other fields simply cannot.’