Earthbound - In Dialogue with Nature gathers forward-thinking works proposing alternative ways of shaping the complex relationship between human activities and the ecosystem-visionary approaches that emphasize the need for dialogue through new forms of interaction and that consciously, by challenging political and geographical boundaries, intervene in the current debate to initiate change. Created in collaboration HEK, Haus der elektronischen Kunste, a young institution from Basel, dedicated to digital culture and its new art forms, and curated by Sabine Himmelsbach, Director HEK, and Boris Magrini, Head of Program HEK, this exhibition demonstrates that precisely where other strategies fail, art can open up new perspectives.

Artists who work with new media generally adopt a critical media approach in contrast to artists who work with traditional art media. Where does the difference lie between media artists and artists who produce modern art? Which key art objects illustrate this trend? The author investigates the relationship between art and technology on the basis of work produced by Edward Ihnatowicz and Harald Cohen, and on the basis of the pioneering computer art exhibition at Dokumenta X in 1997. His line of argument counters the generally held view that computer art straddles the gap between art and technology. Instead, he is seeking a genuine interpretation of the origin of media art, and to develop new perspectives for it.