Eva and Franco Mattes, the artists behind the infamous 0100101110101101.org, have been exploring our relationship to technology in their work ever since they helped birth Net Art back in the day. Their current show at Cain Schulte is as relevant and disturbing and wickedly brilliant as they have ever been, from their depiction of users' reactions to Franco's staged suicide on Chatroulette to their video My Generation that edits together footage of video gamers completely losing their shit while they engage what is supposed to be escapism and light entertainment. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a special version of the Atari arcade classic Pole Position, rigged to a genuine car engine so that it pumps exhaust into the gallery when you step on the game's gas pedal. "THE MORE YOU PLAY THE MORE YOU POLLUTE" declares a sign taped near the quarter slots, and I confess I was reluctant to contribute any more toxicity to the air myself. The fire extinguisher taped to the side of the game was making me hella nervous too.
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