If digital data were endowed with the sense of sight, what would be its perspective, its trajectory and its path?

"Hertzian Journey 01" is a generative artwork which creates a series of virtual journeys that follow the path of radio waves transmitted between more than 100 antennas in Bern's natural and urban landscape. It proposes a new type of tourism through the spectrum of digital infrastructures and their electromagnetic waves.

Inspired by the psychogeographic maps of the Situationist movement (Paris, 1950s) and tourist images of natural landscapes filmed by helicopter, the film depicts the antennas and their surroundings as fragmented islands.

At the centre of these islands, the audience can guess the presence and position of the antennas: on the top of a mountain, fixed to the roof of a building, or sometimes hidden unsuccessfully in the middle of a forest or in the countryside. Visitors can discover how they are embedded in the landscape, a controversial geopolitical subject.

As the camera moves at the speed of wave transmission between each archipelago, it decelerates as it approaches them, recomposing their polygons as it goes, and offering visitors a slow, floating view, inviting us to reflect on the notion of speed in a society where technological progress is king.

How do we perceive - if at all - the ever-accelerating transmission speed of radio waves?

In this generative artwork, the order of trajectories between the antennas is random and infinitely generated, helping to reinforce the concept of 'digital drift'. At the same time, the background of the film is constantly changing, revealing slight nuances of colour reminiscent of those in the sky, visible throughout the day.