The Economy of Appearances (Data Visualisation) 2015

In 1945, the average US stock was held for 4 years. In 2000, it was 8 months, in 2008, 2 months and by 2011, 22 seconds.  This staggering compression of time and space evidences the invisible and relentless rationalisation of return and the associated costs, centrally innovated by and embodied in the algorithmic machinery of the contemporary financial markets. Abstraction, as a central function of capital, is designed to encompass all aspects of our lives and the potential of this global techno-financial automation and virtualisation to create a parasitic pervasiveness that simultaneously, frames our present and speculates upon our future, is observable.

Through the application of an algorithm constructed to identify the words ‘market’ and/or ‘markets’ in the public speeches by relevant national Ministers of Finance, the data has then transformed to create the installation soundscape To date, algorithmic translations of finance ministers from Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Netherlands/Eurozone Group have been included in exhibitions in those countries. The version here is from Jeroen Dijsselbloem (former Netherlands & Eurozone Group President).

‘Curran activates the popular graphic representation of the markets through a 3D data visualisation of the algorithmically-generated soundscape to represent contemporary financial capital functioning through the conduit of the now financialised nation state’ (Helen Carey).

Algorithm Coding & Soundscape Composition: Ken Curran
Data Visualisation: Damien Byrne