Wayne Clements (2008)
As a service to the artworld, in a time of considerable uncertainty, corps_checker anxiously takes the pulse of the business benefactor. corps_checker is a response to the credit crunch and the inflated promises of the creative economy. A script running on the arnolfini server tests the state of corporate sponsorship by 'pinging' the servers of companies listed on the UK Art & Business web site. Should the company fold as a result of the credit crunch, a negative result will be registered. The work exists as a sort of virtual corporate monitoring organisation watching potential business donors for signs of keeling over. Ultimately the work becomes a test of what lasts longest: capitalism or the software program.
Wayne Clements is a visual artist
and a writer. His artworks have been shown in many festivals and
exhibitions of electronic art. un_wiki received the Award of
Distinction, Net Vision, Prix Ars Electronica (2006), and was shown in
Connecting Worlds, ICC Gallery Tokyo (2006), in a specially
commissioned Japanese language version. His artworks have been shown
recently in Madrid, Barcelona, and Athens; notably also in Valencia
where un_wiki was part of the curated presentation antisocial notworking.
Wayne is a Research Fellow at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London.
