!Mediengruppe Bitnik: Surveillance, Eavesdropping, Darknet

!Mediengruppe Bitnik (pronounced: not Mediengruppe Bitnik) is a dynamic artist duo formed by the sharp-minded Carmen Weisskopf and the imaginative Domagoj Smoljo. Their practice unfolds "in" and "with" the Internet, moving fluidly between digital and physical space. A key part of their method is a deliberate loss of control — a way to expose, provoke, and short-circuit systems of power, surveillance, and communication. Over the years, they've launched a series of quietly radical projects. In "Opera Calling" (2007), they installed listening devices in an opera house, broadcasting performances directly to passersby outside. "Surveillance Chess" (2012) hijacked surveillance cameras and rerouted their feeds. At the same time, other works re-edited films pulled from peer-to-peer networks and online archives to question authorship in the digital age. Then there's the now-legendary "Random Darknet Shopper" (2014): an autonomous bot that spent three months roaming the darknet, making random purchases — from keys and sneakers to far more unexpected items. The algorithm wasn't just a tool; it became an actor, raising fundamental questions about responsibility, legality, and agency when software acts on its own. ⁉️ So… why were they never "caught" ⁉️ Because nothing illegal was hidden. Every purchase was real, documented, and publicly exhibited. The artists didn't break the law — they exposed its blind spots. The project revealed how legal systems struggle when agency shifts from humans to code, and how responsibility dissolves when actions are automated. Across their work, !Mediengruppe Bitnik consistently invites us into urgent conversations about surveillance, control, automation, authorship, and what it means to make art inside networked systems we barely understand. Their projects have been shown worldwide — from CAC Shanghai and LOAF Kyoto to Fondazione Prada in Milan and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. Beyond exhibitions, they actively contribute to critical discourse through lectures and panels at institutions such as ICA London and Kunsthalle Zürich. Their impact has been recognised with major awards, including the Swiss Art Award and the Golden Cube at Dokfest Kassel. Now based in Berlin, !Mediengruppe Bitnik continues to test how far art can go when it stops asking permission — and starts letting systems speak for themselves. (⌒ω⌒)ﾉ The artists joined CIFRA’s “Inside the Black Box” community meetup. Watch the recording here https://cifra.com/project/40aac58c-1aa8-40a5-acb1-4ec26e4c595b And if you're in one of these cities, don't miss their upcoming exhibitions: 📍“Mehr Licht. Video in der Kunst. More Light. Video in Art” (January 18 – May 17, 2026) Group Exhibition, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn 📍“Unseen Users” (January 16 – March 14, 2026) Group Exhibition, Super Dakota, Brussels 📍“Computer Says No” (November 29, 2025 – February 22, 2026) Solo Exhibition, Kunsthalle, Osnabrück 📍“Glitch, bug, hallucinations” (October 25, 2025 – July 18, 2026) Group Exhibition, Le Cube, Garges See you online or IRL!