Catalan-based artists, self-identified cyborgs, and influencers in the global cyborg art movement, Neil Harbisson and Moon Ribas use the internet as a sense to fuel perception, understanding, and self expression. Both artists explore the boundaries between cybernetics and organism, defend the freedom of self-design, and believe that embracing our nonhuman entities can bring us closer with the organic worlds of animals, nature, and the cosmos. Together, Ribas and Harbisson advocate on behalf of cyborgs worldwide through the Cyborg Foundation. Founded in 2010, the foundation is committed to the self-actualization of cyborg identities, trans-species rights, and the promotion of cyborg art. An avant-garde artist, Ribas is best known for developing Seismic Sense, an online seismic sensor implanted in her feet that allows her to perceive earthquakes taking place around the planet — and on the moon — through vibrations in real time. With an antenna implanted in his skull, Harbisson’s creative expression extends to his physical body as well, with the focus of his work dedicated to an exploration of identity, perception, the connection between sight and sound, and the use of artistic expression via new sensory inputs. Harbisson and Ribas ask us to consider: “What separates human beings from the technology we create and use?”

Presented with support from the Dissonance Event Series and the School of Information.

Photos by Mark Kaplan (left) and Lars Norgaard (right)