Since the emergence of digital audio in the early 1980s, the French have had a nice and relevant habit of calling digital as dematerialized (dématérialisé). That’s exactly what it is, but it’s just a word. Behind the word there’s an idea and meaning, and to get deeper into the idea, whatever that might be, one should indulge in such artistic projects as the Sound Art Project by artist Berto Herrera and producer Manao exploring CAPTCHA, Tactility & Digital Resistance, and confronting the ephemeral nature of digital interactions and the commodification of human experience.
The description:
“Drawing on a potent artist statement that critiques our reduction to data points and perpetual feedback loops, the project offers an incisive commentary on the “non-things” that now shape our reality. In an era where each click, scroll, and CAPTCHA contributes to an endless shadow economy, this initiative exposes how digital interfaces and predictive algorithms strip life of authenticity. Echoing Byung-Chul Han’s reflections on our descent into “information hell,” the project invites audiences to reclaim genuine experience through acts of resistance. By rejecting the constant demands of algorithmic engagement, the work champions a return to spaces of silence and human connection.
The project features a one-hour sound art experience—crafted through both digital and tape master techniques—that will be available as a free digital download on Metalabel (released 1-2 months prior to other platforms). In addition, collectors can acquire original handmade collage tapes (edition of 20) and a unique SD card in a painted river stone referencing the Hollow Nickel case (edition of 7), merging tactile artistry with digital innovation. The immersive experience launched with an IRL listening party on Operator Radio and a concurrent digital exhibition via New Art City sponsored by Six Minutes Past Nine, uniting the physical and virtual realms. This project is a call to arms against the commodification of our lives—a challenge to reclaim authenticity in an era dominated by data.
Release:
https://metalabel-scry.metalabel.com/captcha-scry?variantId=1
Exhibition https://newart.city/show/captcha
More of the release:
“In an age increasingly shaped by ephemeral digital interactions, we are confronted with a pervasive sense of detachment from the tangible—a world where “non-things” dominate and our lived experiences are reduced to data points, endlessly catalogued and commodified. Each CAPTCHA we solve, each click or scroll, propels a shadow economy of meaninglessness, where we contribute to datasets that reframe not only our identities but our entire reality. As Byung-Chul Han argues, these digital non-things do not enrich our lives but instead strip them of substance, removing us from spaces of authentic connection and grounding us instead in a ceaseless feedback loop of information.
The promises of AI—that it cannot supplant the irreplaceable complexity of human experience—exist only to perpetuate a neoliberal marketplace ruled by predictive algorithms, ads, and virtual detours, amplifying a reality that is perpetually detached and commodified. In Han’s view, this transformation is a descent into an “information hell,” where our world is less something to live within than a stream of data in which we float, surveilled and redirected as mere profiles within a vast network.
Our attention, fractured and reprogrammed by this continuous digital engagement, is guided less by conscious choice than by the demands of a media landscape that is, in Han’s terms, an endless archive of consumable moments. Authentic experience—a moment of contemplation, a connection untouched by commercial motivations—has been hollowed out. The tactile has given way to the virtual, where we encounter not true things but interfaces, not meaning but metrics.
In a mediascape where all content is calibrated for maximum engagement, we must cultivate resistance. This resistance lies in our ability to reject the constant demands of algorithmic interaction, to reclaim spaces of silence and depth that are deliberately disconnected from commodification. To sever ourselves from this engineered information economy is to assert our humanity against the prevailing “non-things” and to open up the possibility of experience unfiltered by data-driven directives. This act of reclamation, however minor, is the first step toward a reality not shaped by metrics but by the intangible qualities that define human life.”
About the artists:
“SCRY is a sound art duo led by artist Berto Herrera and producer Manao, merging fine art, electronic music, and critical theory to interrogate the digital landscapes shaping contemporary life. Rooted in Herrera’s exploration of identity, surveillance, and power systems, and Manao’s deep connection to electronic music’s global underground, SCRY crafts immersive sonic experiences that challenge algorithmic control, digital commodification, and the erasure of authentic human experience.
Drawing from techno-feudalism, club culture, and speculative sound design, the duo creates works that disrupt, reclaim, and reimagine human agency in an era of hyperconnectivity. Berto Herrera, a Black-Hispanic artist and former Adidas art director, brings a multidisciplinary approach, informed by his work dismantling cultural biases and exposing hidden power structures. His fine art background from Parsons, alongside his internationally recognized series What Is Home?, informs SCRY’s conceptual depth, fusing visual, sonic, and digital mediums to critique systems of control.
Manao, born in Maracaibo and now based in Berlin, bridges the energy of Latin club music with the precision of UK bass, Detroit electro, and jungle. A key figure in the Berlin electronic scene, he has released on Dance Trax, International Chrome, and Turbo Recordings, gaining support from DJs like Jensen Interceptor and VTSS. Beyond production, Manao was a core member of DRY, a Berlin-based collective known for curating inclusive events at OXI and Tresor’s Globus, championing BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and queer communities. His curatorial and sonic instincts bring a dynamic edge to SCRY’s sound, shaping compositions that oscillate between tension and release, the digital and the tactile.
Shamma Buhazza, is a multidisciplinary designer based in Abu Dhabi. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons The New School for Design in New York, where she began cultivating her distinctive approach to design. Her work explores the interplay of language, culture, and visual design, engaging with narratives that connect heritage, digital culture, and their intersections. Shamma has worked with global clients such as Apple and Adidas, alongside numerous other brands across a range of industries. Her reflective and exploratory approach bridges traditional and contemporary ideas, challenging conventional design norms to craft meaningful connections.”
